The New Year has arrived and with that a chance for all of us to embrace the excitement of change, a new beginning of sorts with our daily lives.  I look forward to 2010 with optimism, hope and enthusiasm for the adventures that will unfold in the months ahead.

Now that all of the ‘year end’ festivities, family traditions and celebrations have passed I’m looking forward to getting back into a more normal day to day routine and most certainly squeeze in a few additional hours behind the stove.

One very important fundamental concept I learned as a young Italian cook was that it is imperative to understand the origin of classic or historical recipes and foods.  In doing so as a cook, you then gain the permission from a culinary point of view to make personal changes and adapt the recipe to your own style of cooking. The result is an excellent new family dinner recipe.

I am very excited to pass along a ‘new’ recipe recently added to the collection and certainly one that will get plenty of use throughout the year.  My test cooking/experiments with Guanciale (cured pork jowels) yielded fantastic results and now I am proud to say have my version of “Bucatini all’Amatriciana”.

Ingredients

12 oz              Guanciale, ¼” thick sliced, then diced

• Chef Note – Pancetta italian meat is perfect substitute

1 ½ T            Olive Oil
1 ea                Sweet Onion, ½ “thickness -julienne cut (approx 3 cups)
4 ea               Garlic cloves, medium (sliced thin)
1 ½  t           Red Chili Flake
28 oz           Whole tomatoes (crushed by hand)
5 T                Italian Flat Leaf Parsley (leaves only), rough chop
Sea Salt and Black Pepper (fresh ground)
1 lb               Bucatini

• Chef Note – Your favorite pasta is acceptable substitute if desired

Pecorino Romano, grated

Method

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, season well with sea salt.  Cook pasta following manufacturer’s directions or until ‘Al Dente’, drain well and hold.

Place a large sauté pan over medium-low heat, add Guanciale and cook until most of the fat has been rendered and it begins to caramelize.  Remove from pan with slotted spoon and place on plate lined with paper towels to drain.  Approximately 7 -8 minutes cooking time.

Turn heat to medium-high and add your onions, stir occasionally and cook until translucent.  Add garlic, red chili flake and cook for additional 2-3 minutes, will become golden brown in color.

Add tomatoes and reserved Guanciale, mix well.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.  Check and adjust seasoning as necessary with sea salt and black pepper.  Add pasta and Italian parsley to tomato sauce, toss to coat well.

Divide pasta between plates, liberally apply fresh grate of Pecorino Romano over top and serve.

Serves: 4 – 6 persons