I featured this little group of recipes in my New York Times column and in The Minimalist Cooks Dinner, but it’s so instructive, important, and wonderful that I felt it belonged here as well. All (well, almost all) the variations begin with bits of cured meat cooked until crisp, around which are built a number of different sauces of increasing complexity. Most people insist that the “genuine” meat for these recipes is pancetta—salted, cured, and rolled pork belly. Pancetta is available at almost any decent Italian deli and at many specialty stores, but you can use bacon (or even better, if you can find it, guanciale, which is cured pig’s jowl; see the back of the book for mail-order sources). Pecorino Romano is the cheese of choice here, but Parmesan is also good.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 3 to 6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. In a small saucepan, combine the olive oil and meat and turn the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Step 2
Cook the pasta in the boiling water until it is tender but not mushy. Before draining the pasta, remove about a cup of the cooking water and reserve it.
Step 3
Toss the drained pasta with the meat and its juices; stir in the cheese. If the mixture is dry, add a little of the pasta-cooking water (or a little olive oil). Toss in lots of black pepper and serve.
Spaghetti Carbonara
Step 4
You might call this pasta with bacon and eggs: While the pasta is cooking, warm a large bowl and beat 3 eggs in it. Stir in about 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan and the pancetta and its juices. When the pasta is done, drain it and toss with the egg mixture. If the mixture is dry (unlikely), add a little reserved cooking water. Add plenty of black pepper and some more Parmesan to taste and serve.
Pasta all’Amatriciana
Step 5
Step 1 is the same. Remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon and, in the juices left behind, sauté a medium onion, sliced, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until well softened, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool a bit. Stir in 2 cups chopped tomato (canned is fine; drain it first) and turn the heat back to medium. Cook the sauce, stirring occasionally, while you cook the pasta. When the pasta is done, drain it and toss it with the tomato sauce, the reserved pancetta, and at least 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese.
Pasta with Pepper and Cheese
Step 6
The meatless version: toss cooked pasta with the oil, cheese, a lot of cracked black pepper, and enough of the reserved cooking water to thin the sauce slightly (it should be moist, not soupy).
