Tomato & Guanciale Pasta

This is considered one of the classic Roman pasta dishes, despite conspicuously hailing from the nearby city of Amatrice. Bucatini is a bit of an odd duck in Italian cuisine. It’s considered the most difficult shape of pasta to eat (without making a mess, that is) and is avoided by most Italians except in a handful of dishes in which, for some ineffable reason, it is the best choice. As the name suggests, bucatini all’Amatriciana is one of those dishes.