Toasty Amatriciana estiva, or, That's one saucy dish.
But first, some history. Skip if you think history is for goofuses.
Back in 18 BCE the Roman emperor Augustus (nee Octavian) created the Feriae Augusti, or Festivals of Augustus, a series of feasts, fetes, and donkey races that took place mid-August. He did this for a few reasons:
a) to celebrate himself, because he was a megalomaniac;
b) to link together a few existing Roman holidays into an extended, multi-day holiday season that was all about him (see first point); and
c) to give his people a break from the harvest, id est, give them a reason to love their emperor even more (see first, second points)
Cut to today, when the FAs have morphed into Ferragosto, a Labor Day-style long weekend celebrated in Italy on August 15, alongside the Catholic feast in honor of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
This year, I scheduled a small dinner party for August 15, so the theme was a total gimme, as was a tomato-forward pasta dish — like Amatriciana, a tomato/guanciale/pecorino sauce that's big, bold, and very Italian.
I used Katie Parla & Kristina Gill's recipe for Amatriciana Estiva ("Summer Amatriciana") as a springboard for building a rich, savory tomato sauce from fresh heirloom cherry tomatoes. I served it on bombolotti, but this sauce could work equally well on long pasta (like spaghetti or tagliatelle), pizza, or even bruschetta.
I like my tomato sauce spicy, so I added chili flakes, plus hot & spicy oregano from my garden. This oregano is typically used in Mexican dishes, but I figured what the hell, life's too short to silo my oreganos. In addition, I added ground fennel and dry white wine; I wanted to balance the intensity of the tomatoes and pork with some herbal notes and light acidity.
As for the requisite guanciale: I couldn't source any, so I used pancetta, which mimics the fat if not the flavor. And speaking of fat, I dispensed with olive oil (((SCANDAL!!))) and used the drippings from a whole roasted chicken — again, going for very rich, very roasty-toasty tomato flavor.
Pro-tip: Simmer this sauce in a big, well-seasoned cast iron skillet to bring out all that earthy sweetness in your tomatoes.
Mangia!
yours,
aa
Toasty Amatricana Estiva Sauce
Inspired by Katie Parla & Kristina Gill's Amatriciana Estiva, from Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavors and Forgotten Recipes from an Ancient City, 2016
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45 to 65 minutes
Makes approx. 4 cups (equivalent to 4 to 6 servings of pasta, 2 small pizza pies, or 2 dozen bruschetta)
Recommended pairing: CHIANTI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What you’ll need
1 ½ tbsp fresh chicken drippings
4 oz. pancetta
4 big cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
2 ½ to 3 pints cherry tomatoes (I used a variety of heirlooms for their sweetness)
1 tbsp chili flake
2 tsp ground fennel
¼ c. dry white wine
¼ c. fresh oregano leaves
Big handful Italian parsley, roughly chopped (about 1 c.)
Salt & black pepper to taste
Your chosen sauce vehicle, e.g., pasta, pizza dough, bruschetta
Fresh Italian parsley leaves & fresh shaved parmesan, for garnishing your saucy dish
How to make it
Heat chicken drippings in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat until shiny. Reduce heat to med-low and add pancetta. Let the fat render, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on your pancetta — if it's starting to burn, lower your heat. You want crispy little meaty bites, not pebbles of charcoal.
As your pancetta renders, halve all your tomatoes. This will take a while.
Once the pancetta is ready — lots of yummy fats in the pan, studded with crunchy mini-meats — add the garlic. Stir until the garlic is golden and fragrant, ~3 minutes.
Return heat to medium and add the halved tomatoes and chili flake. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Let the tomatoes simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of them have lost their shape, about 15 minutes.
Add the white wine and simmer 5 minutes more, stirring frequently. Add the oregano and parsley and continue to stir, about 2 minutes, until the greens are wilty and well incorporated.
At this point, you can serve via your selected sauce-delivery system (pasta, pizza, bruschetta), or reduce the heat to low and let your sauce bubble and thicken for another 10 to 15 minutes. As the sauce simmers, it'll reduce in volume and expand in flavor; the tomatoes will totally lose shape and get extra-toasty and extra- yummy. Your sauce, your call.
