Bucatini in Tomato Sauce with Bacon and Hot Pepper
Instructions:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or lard
- 1/ 3 pound pancetta, cut into thin, short strips (150 g)
- 1/ 2 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 dried peperoncino, or hot red pepper flakes to taste
- 7 Italian plum tomatoes, drained and cut into pieces if canned; peeled, seeded, and julienned if fresh
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound bucatini, spaghetti, or vermicelli (450 g)
- 3 / 4 cup freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese (75 g)
- In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the pancetta and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until light brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
- Add the onion and peperoncino to the hot fat, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring, until the onion is lightly colored, about 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, season with salt and black pepper to taste, and simmer for about 8 minutes, no more. (The tomatoes must not be too loose or too thick.) Discard the peperoncino and return the pancetta to the skillet. Taste the sauce for seasoning. You should be able to taste the peperoncino. If not, add a pinch of hot pepper flakes.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until it is very al dente. Drain and toss with half of the pecorino Romano cheese. Mix with two-thirds of the sauce, put onto a serving platter, pour the rest of the sauce over the pasta, and serve at once, with the rest of the pecorino Romano passed at the table.