I made one of Stanley Tucci's favorite Roman pasta dishes with just four ingredients, and it was the best version I've ever made (2024)

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In his TV series "Searching for Italy," Stanley Tucci goes to Rome to investigate and taste its "four pastas."

While visiting Rome in his TV series "Searching for Italy," Tucci refers to "four pastas" — cacio e pepe, carbonara, alla gricia, and all'amatriciana. The latter was the one that really gained my interest, as I attempted to make it most often at home.

In the show, Tucci oversees a Roman chef recreating the dish. He includes only four ingredients — tomatoes, guanciale, Pecorino Romano cheese, and pasta. This surprised me, as I've often made this dish following recipes, such as Bon Appétit's, that also included garlic, onions, and red pepper flakes.

I was curious to see how my previous attempts would stack up against one taken straight out of Rome.

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As there are so few ingredients, Tucci and the chefs are clear you have to choose the right ones.

The first key choice is cheese, and only Pecorino Romano will do.

Its appearance and usage are similar to parmesan, but it differs wildly in taste. While parmesan is made of cows' milk and adds a slight nuttiness and creaminess to pasta dishes, Pecorino is made from sheep's milk and has a sharper, earthier, and tangier taste, according to Blue Apron.

Another key ingredient at the heart of this dish is guanciale, which is often substituted with bacon in American versions, like Delish's recipe for all'amatriciana.

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Using guanciale rather than pancetta is a must, according to Roman chefs.

While it's similar to the widely-available pancetta, guanciale has a different flavor profile, according to the chefs.

Unfortunately for me in the UK, guanciale,which is made fromcured pork cheek or jowl, is difficult to source. However, I have been able to find it on occasion, and thought the end result was just as delicious with pancetta.

It also may not seem like a big deal as to which pasta you choose, but Tucci notes in his 2021 memoir, "Taste: My Life Through Food," that incompatible pasta pairings can be considered "heresy" to Italians.

Tucci suggests rigatoni as a suitable pairing for this dish in his book, which is usually widely available.

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Here's what you'll need to make pasta all'amatriciana.

As Tucci mostly followed the chefs on-screen with no written instructions, I had to scour the internet in an attempt to find a close recipe match.

With a dish like this, it's hard to suggest one authentic recipe when there are so many variations. However, the BBC's recipe for spaghetti all'amatriciana seemed close to the one shown on screen.

Here are the ingredients:

• 500g, or 18fl oz, crushed tomatoes or passata
• 150g guanciale or pancetta
• 350g rigatoni or other suitable pasta such as bucatini or spaghetti
• 100g Pecorino Romano cheese.

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First, fry the guanciale on a medium-low heat in a small amount of oil to render out the fat from the meat.

Starting the pan with a very small amount of oil will help the guanciale or pancetta brown, as it'll release a lot of its own fat in the cooking process.

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Add your pasta to boiling salted water and cook until al dente.

As you'll finish cooking the pasta in the sauce later, you only need to cook it until it's al dente so it retains a bite to it.

This is usually about two minutes less than the advertised cooking time on the packaging, according to Rachael Ray's website.

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Once the guanciale pieces have browned and become crispy, remove them with a slotted spoon onto a plate.

The Roman chefs in "Searching for Italy" separate the pork to keep it crispy before adding it back to the sauce later.

Your pan should have the rendered-out fat from the pork as well as some browned bits, known as fond, at the bottom.

The rendered fat and fond from the guanciale or pancetta will become key flavorings for the sauce.

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Turning the heat up to medium-high, add the tomatoes and stir immediately.

Stir immediately and start to reduce the sauce, cooking out any harsh acidity from tomatoes.

Keep cooking and stirring the tomato sauce, reducing and infusing the sauce with the flavorful fat.

You'll want to reduce the sauce by about a third until it's noticeably thickened.

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Once the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly, add the crispy pork and mix in.

As you're adding the pork back in during the final stages, it will keep its crisp while also becoming adequately sauced.

Add a small amount of Pecorino Romano into the sauce and mix thoroughly.

This will help emulsify the sauce and impart the creamy, nutty, and salty flavor of the cheese into the dish.

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Once your pasta is al dente, use the slotted spoon to transfer the pasta directly from the pan into the sauce.

Don't drain the pasta water from the pan — it will help build the sauce and can be used to alter the consistency of the sauce if it's been reduced too much.

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Mix the sauce with the pasta until fully coated.

Either using the spoon or tossing the pan back and forth if you're confident, mix it together until every piece of pasta is coated.

If the sauce has become too thick, splash some of the pasta water from the pasta's pan to help the sauce reach the right consistency.

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Finish plating the dish with an extra sprinkle of Pecorino Romano and dig in.

Once plated, finish the garnish with a grind of black pepper, and you should have a very good-looking plate of pasta in front of you in around 20 minutes from start to finish.

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This was easily the best version of this dish I've ever made, despite having the fewest ingredients. I'll definitely be making it like this again.

Despite using pancetta instead of guanciale — which I recommend if you can find it — this dish hit every element it needed to. The salt from the cured pork and its rendered fat helped emulsify the hearty tomato sauce.

Like many avid home cooks, I've previously failed with congealed cacio e pepes and curdled carbonaras. Fortunately, all'amatriciana has few potential complications but is just as delicious as the rest of the "four pastas."

In many cases, the others may take the spotlight, but this hearty, tasty, and ridiculously simple tomato pasta is the one I'll always come back to first.