Pasta All' Amatriciana

Amatrice is a little town located midway between Rome and Naples with the unique distinction of having lent its signature dish to two different provinces. Over the course of history, the Amatriciani aligned themselves with one or the other, depending on how the political winds were blowing. The outcome has been that both Rome and Naples have benefited by claiming a wonderful pasta dish as their own. As you can imagine, though, each has given the recipe a unique twist to make it palatable to their respective tastes.
Napoletani prepare the sauce with their characteristic hot red pepper flakes, while Romans add the refinement of a little dry white wine. Either way, the ingredient that gives Pasta all' Amatriciana its distinctive flavor is guanciale or cured pork jowl.
A full-bodied, young red wine like Chianti or Barbaresco would be a great accompaniment to the pasta.

Ingredients:

4 oz. lean salt pork, cut into 1/4 in. dice

2 Tbs. olive oil

4 Cloves garlic, peeled

1 tsp. red pepper flakes (for the Neopolitan version)

1 Medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 Cup dry white wine (for the Roman version)

1 28 oz. can plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano

salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 Lb. spaghetti

Pecorino Romano cheese

2 Tbs. flat leaf Italian parsley, finely chopped

In a saucepan, bring about two quarts of water to the boil, then add the salt pork and blanch for about two minutes. Drain and reserve. This step removes most of the saltiness from the pork.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a saute pan. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook, turning occasionally, until the garlic is brown all over, then discard. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the salt pork and the onion, and saute until the pork has rendered some of its fat and begins to become crisp around the edges and the onion becomes slightly translucent. For the Neopolitan version, add the red pepper flakes and saute very briefly.

For the Roman version, raise the heat to high and add the white wine, scraping up any bits of onion or salt pork that have caramelized on the bottom of the pan. Boil for a minute or two to let the alcohol evaporate, then remove the pan from the heat and for either version, add the tomatoes to the pan, crushing them with the back of a fork as they go in.

Return the pan to the stove, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for about twenty minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and most of the extraneous liquid has evaporated. Taste for salt and pepper and make corrections as necessary.

While the sauce is simmering, put a large pot of water on to boil. When the water reaches a full rolling boil, add the pasta and cook to the al dente state, then drain.

To serve family style, pour the pasta into a large bowl, or onto a large platter, pour the sauce over the pasta and garnish with freshly grated Pecorino Romano and parsley.

For individual servings, divide the pasta equally among four plates, ladle the sauce over each, and again, garnish with Pecorino Romano and parsley. In either case, pass extra cheese at the table.