The other day I was in the mood for Pasta Amatriciana. Since I’d never made it before, I decided to go ahead and try. It turned up to be real simple! I read several recipes and decided to adapt to my taste.

First step is to get together your ingredients. Measure them out and get them ready to cook. Make sure that you chop the onion nice and fine.

Now most people would throw out the bacon fat but I highly recommend holding in to it. It’s great to fry things in for some extra flavor. In this case you’re going to want to hold on to about a tablespoon of the rendered fat.

Now fry the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes until translucent. If you use the rendered bacon fat, the smell (and taste) will be amazing!

Once it’s translucent, pour in the tomato sauce. Let that simmer while you cook the pasta. remember to use salty water and to follow the cooking instructions in the package. Mix the cooked pasta in with the sauce and serve immediately.

And enjoy! Here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

4 slices bacon, diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1 pound linguine pasta, uncooked
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook diced bacon in a large saucepan over medium high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of drippings from the pan.
2. Add onions, and cook over medium heat about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes; cook 30 seconds. Add canned tomatoes, undrained; simmer 10 minutes, breaking up tomatoes.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of 4 quarts boiling salted water until al dente. Drain.
4. Stir basil into the sauce, and then toss with cooked pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.