Ingredients
- 1 box Flour+Water Penne Rigate Pasta
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 4 oz. guanciale (*or substitute pancetta), cut into ⅛” slices and ½” by ½” tiles
- 6 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
- ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- black pepper
- ¼ white wine
- 1 (28 oz.) can crushed san marzano tomatoes
- 1 ½ oz. parmigiano reggiano, finely grated
- 1 ½ oz. pecorino romano, finely grated
- TT kosher salt
Method
Step 1
Cook the pasta according to package instructions minus 2 minutes. Once the pasta is slightly undercooked, reserve a quarter cup of the pasta water for later use and strain directly into the prepared pan sauce.
Step 2
For the pan sauce, start by adding the olive oil and guanciale to a 12” diameter, high sided saute pan and place over medium heat. By starting with a cold saute pan, your guanciale will have ample time to render its fat as the pan heats. Stir often to ensure even cooking and continue to saute until the guanciale caramelizes and crisps (the guanciale will essentially be frying in its own fat). Once crisp, remove from heat and stir in crushed garlic, red pepper flake and a generous amount of black pepper (we recommend a heaping teaspoon of freshly cracked). Once the aroma of the pepper flakes and black pepper intensify, carefully add the white wine to prevent the pepper from burning. Most of the alcohol from the wine will cook off immediately and reduce from the residual heat of the pan. At this point, add crushed tomatoes and return to medium high heat. Remove the crushed garlic cloves and discard. Add the cooked pasta, along with the reserved pasta water (*see above) to the pan sauce. Continue cooking and stirring until the sauce is slightly thinner than finished sauce consistency. Remove from heat and stir in half of the parmigiano reggiano and pecorino romano. Adjust seasoning with salt if needed.
