SPAGHETTI ALLA AMATRICIANA

Ingredients:

Spaghetti 1 Kilo	Lard a spoon full
Tomatoes 1 Kilo	Salt just a little
Pork cheek 1 hectogram	Pepper abundant
Onions one medium onion	Pecorino romano abundant

Preparation 

The "spaghetti alla amatriciana" is a typical and characteristic roman dish, a speciality often requested in many taverns and restaurants present in the Capital.

Nothing more simple! For a kilo of spaghetti (hand made with the aid of a pasta machine and cut on a cutter) use an onion with a hectogram of pig cheek and place it in a saucepan with a spoon full of lard. When the pig cheek and the onion are slightly brown - not too brown- add to the pan a kilo of peeled tomatoes, with the seeds taken out and cut into bits. Flavour with salt and pepper , check the salt and cook on a strong flame, for a few minutes until the tomatoes are cooked but not overdone.

In the meanwhile put the pasta in the water and as soon as its cooked and once drained add the sauce you have prepared and a hectogram of grated roman pecorino cheese. The traditional recipe requires pecorino but for those who do not like its spicy tastes it is possible to use pecorino mixed with parmesan or just parmesan. Pepper must be a dominant flavour in this spaghetti dish.

The dish

This is a typical dish of the roman cuisine but very simple and very tasty
(if executed correctly ) as are all traditional dishes. The secret is all in the "soffritto" , a base of onions carrots and celery all lightly fried so that none of the tastes are lost. A "soffritto", in fact must never cook for more than 10 minutes, if this time limit is overstepped the quality will suffer. The "soffritto" must be stirred now and again with a wooden spoon, so that the various tastes blend in harmoniously . It is important to let the pasta, to which you have just added the sauce, rest for a few minutes so that it absorbs the taste before being served.

The Wine

The "Spaghetti alla Amatriciana" is not a very difficult dish to execute but its taste is very savoury, intense and persistent, so it must not be underestimated. Even if this recipe does not need a "grand" wine, it necessitates a wine that offers the same intensity as the dish. 
It is never easy to combine a wine to a dish, especially when you are dealing with distinct tastes and structures that well combine with a "great" white or a "delicate" red wine.
In the case of white wines, a "Superior" Frascati is a good combination and allows us to remain in the area of origin of this dish, any other wines along these lines or any other wines of this area will suit the dish just as well.

Optimum, in any case, is the combination with a rather delicate red wine as this has a slightly tannic tinge that softens out the spiciness of the dish, given the abundant pepper and the presence of the roman pecorino cheese, whose sapidity is intense and persistent. We must not forget the fat component present in the pork cheek. Thus the ideal would be a young red wine, not very acid, slightly tannic, with a low alcohol content (11-11,5°), not too structured, with a taste that is persistent but not sour.

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