Roman pasta dish consisting of spaghetti with spiced bacon, tomato, oinion and chilli sauce
Spaghetti all'amatriciana is Roman pasta dish consisting of Spaghetti, boiled in salted water,with sauce prepared with guanciale or pancetta, red chili peppers and tomatoes. The dish is named after the town of Amatrice in northern Lazio, whence it originates. It is also a specialty of Rome, where it is prepared with red pepper and onions as well.
It is thought to be derived from a dish named pasta alla gricia, made with pasta and a sauce made of guanciale and pieces of sausages sautéed with olive oil, flavoured with freshly ground black pepper, and served mixed with Pecorino Romano cheese. It is popular in all Central Italy but also identified with Rome. It was Amatrice where tomato was added to gricia (while the sausages were eliminated) and the sauce was formed, the restaurants in Amatrice still offer Amatriciana bianca and rossa, that is, without or with tomatoes,