Quick Bite: Pasta all'Amatriciana (as told by an Italian)

When I went to Thailand this past summer, 9 out of the 14 people in my group were Italian.  That meant a lot of Cruciani bracelets, the word "Allora", cigarettes and references to Milan.  One night, Maria Giulia and Carlo decided to cook pasta for the group and I was ecstatic. Pasta cooked by an Italian!  A serious treat, especially after the questionable amounts of Pad Thai we had been eating.

They made a very simple yet delicious dish I had never had before call Pasta all'Amatriciana.  Five main ingredients was all that was needed for a seriously memorable meal.

After dinner, I asked MG to write down the recipe for me because I wanted to make it at home.  Below is the recipe she gave me, in her exact words.  Because, grammar errors and all, it sounds much more eloquent than whatever I would have written.

Pasta all'Amatriciana Recipe

Start with Soffritto (let the chopped onion go in the pan with olive oil).

After onion are getting 'colored' add bacon.
When bacon is done add tomato souce. A tea spoon of sugar helps getting rid of the acid aftertaste of tomato.

Add chilly pepper and or salt when needed.

Finally dress the pasta with the sauce and add parmesan cheese.

I was seriously lacking the ingredients when I made it, so I took the only pasta I had, which were lasagna sheets, and broke them into smaller pieces. This is not the first time I've done this.

Make sure you cook the bacon enough that some pieces are a bit crispy, that is all.

When MG said tomato sauce, she didn't mean a pre-made pasta sauce, like Prego.  She literally meant tomato sauce.  A great one is Pomi.  I didn't have any but remembered I had frozen two ziplock bags with some homemade leftover sauce.  The finished product was absolutely delicious.  Grazie MG!