Bucatini all'Amatriciana

Did I already mention that I love tomato sauce? Thus I also love this pasta recipe. The secret which makes it fast is to use store-bought tomato sauce. I know, I know, it is cheating, but it makes the recipe pretty fast. And you can buy some decent tomato sauces out there (meaning only tomatoes, onion, garlic and herbs and no strange chemicals). 

You could of course prepare a tomato sauce a day or so before(or some more time and freeze it).

Either way, this recipe is delicious, the only other secret is to use fresh bacon and not dried one.

Servings: 4
Difficulty: easy
Preparation time: 30 min

Ingredients:

• 225 g thinly sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped (I use fresh bacon which needs to be kept refrigerated)
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 300-400 g prepared tomato sauce (if you can't find anyhting else, the one from Barilla with herbs or basil also performs nicely)
• Salt
• 450 g bucatini (or maccheroni, I do not seem to find bucatini anywhere)
• flat-leaf parsley leaves
• Grated Pecorino Romano cheese, for serving

Method:

• In a large, deep skillet, cook the pancetta over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a plate. 
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the skillet. Add the onion, garlic and crushed red pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is lightly browned, about 6 minutes. 
• Return the pancetta to the skillet. Add the tomato sauce, season with salt and simmer until very thick, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water(about 125 ml).
• Add the pasta to the sauce along with the parsley and the reserved cooking water and stir over moderately high heat until the pasta is evenly coated, 2 minutes. 
• Serve the pasta in bowls, passing the cheese at the table.