From Eat Pray Love · 2010 · Reconstructed
Spaghetti all'Amatriciana
Serve when
Serve it for the Rome lunch where Liz stops apologizing for her appetite — eating alone at the trattoria, unhurried and unashamed.
In the movie
Theatrical
- ~00:40:00 Rome: Liz sits alone at a trattoria with a plate of spaghetti in a glistening red sauce and gives it her full, wordless attention — the 'eat' of the title, learned one twirl at a time.
Rome is where Liz relearns pleasure, and the film shoots her pasta the way other films shoot love scenes. The lesson her Italian friends give her — il dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing — arrives on a plate of red sauce first.
Ingredients
Method
- Render the guanciale in a cold pan brought slowly to medium until crisp and the fat has melted out. Don't drain — the fat is the sauce's soul.
- Add the chili flakes, then the tomatoes; simmer 15 minutes until glossy.
- Cook the pasta very al dente, then finish it in the sauce with a splash of pasta water.
- Off the heat, toss with the pecorino until creamy.
- Serve to yourself, alone, with zero guilt. That's the assignment.
Substitutions
- Guanciale: pancetta is the closest common swap. Smoked bacon works in a pinch but brings a smokiness amatriciana doesn't traditionally have — use a little less, and ease off the chili if it's already smoky.
Wine pairing
A juicy Italian red (Montepulciano d'Abruzzo) — find a bottle
Beyond the recipe
Watch it made
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