Recipe: Spaghetti All’Amatriciana with Insalata Tricolore from Sonoma County

During these unprecedented times, when staying at home is of the utmost importance, us here at The AU Review are going to be doing everything we can to help readers live their best lives, indoors.

As with many other media companies who typically focus on getting folks out and about, we’re shifting to adapt to the necessary lock-downs taking place all over the world. One way we’ll be doing so is simply by sharing our favourite recipes.

Over the next few weeks (or months, who knows) we’ll be publishing the cocktail and food recipes that we find most exciting, so that when you aren’t ordering in to support your favourite venues, you’ll know enough to quickly throw together some top-class concoctions

Spaghetti All’Amatriciana with Insalata Tricolore

One of the first recipes featured on their new virtual Quarantine Kitchen series, Chef Shane McAnelly – of Sonoma County restaurants Chalkboard and Brass Rabbit – has cooked up a Spaghetti All’Amatriciana with Insalata Tricolore. Given that pretty much anything coming out of California Wine Country is worth a try, we’ve sourced this recipe which serves up to 4 people (or 2, if you’re really hungry). McAnelley also suggests a Bricoleur’s 2017 Zinfandel as it pairs beautifully with the pasta, adding spicy notes of cherry flavours.

Ingredients – Salad and Vinaigrette

• 140g of arugula (1 packet)
• 2 yellow endives, if not available just get extra arugula and radicchio
• 1 small head of radicchio lettuce
• 2 lemons
• 1 small shallot
• 1 clove of garlic
• 75ml of good quality extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• 30g pecorino cheese – option to use parmesan cheese (for garnish)

Method – Salad and Vinaigrette

1. Open pre-washed arugula and add to a large mixing bowl. If arugula is not pre-washed, wash in cold water and dry with a towel or salad spinner.
2. Cut the endives in half diagonally and separate leaves into the mixing bowl.
3. Wash the exterior of radicchio with cold water and wipe down with a dry towel. Cut radicchio in half. With the cut side down on the cutting board, cut in half again. Cut the radicchio crosswise into 1/4 strips and add to the mixing bowl.
4. Peel the shallot and cut into very small dice.
5. Peel one clove of garlic and smash with the side of your knife. Chop garlic until it becomes a very fine paste.
6. Add the garlic and shallot into a small mixing bowl along with a pinch of salt and a few turns of fresh ground black pepper.
7. Cut your lemons in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl.
8. Whisk in the olive oil. The dressing will separate (it’s not emulsified), so keep the whisk close by to whisk it right before dressing the salad to ensure even distribution.
9. Whisk the vinaigrette and add to the bowl of greens. Season with a heavy pinch of salt and a few turns of freshly cracked black pepper.
10. Toss gently with clean hands or tongs until dressing is evenly dispersed. Place dressed salad on a serving platter and garnish with freshly grated pecorino cheese.

Ingredients – Spaghetti

• 500g (1 packet) of spaghetti or bucatini
• 1 small yellow onion (recipe will only require ½ of an onion)
• 115g of pancetta, bacon will work if no pancetta available (optional for non-meat eaters)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 830ml (2 cans) of San Marzano tomatoes whole peeled (any other whole tomato or tomato puree will work)
• 30ml of extra virgin olive oil, plus a little bit more to garnish
• 2 sprigs of parsley – option to use dried parsley
• 2 sprigs of oregano – option to use dried oregano
• 55g of pecorino cheese – option to use parmesan cheese (for garnish)
• A pinch red pepper flakes
• Salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper

Method – Spaghetti

1. Place a large pot of water on the stove on high heat. Generously season the water with salt.
2. Once the water is up to a boil add the spaghetti. Set a timer for one minute less than the package suggests. It will finish cooking in the sauce. When it is time to drain the pasta, be sure to reserve a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water.
3. Cut pancetta or bacon into ¼ by ¼ pieces. Place a large saute pan or pot over medium-high heat (Make sure this pan/pot is large enough to hold all of the pasta and sauce).
4. Add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into the pan. When the oil just barely begins to smoke add your pancetta/bacon and turn the heat down to low/medium.
5. Turn the bacon pieces over a couple of times to ensure all sides get cooked evenly.
6. While the bacon is cooking, cut the onion in half and remove the skin. Cut one half into thin strips, the other half you can reserve for another use.
7. Peel 3 cloves of garlic and slice as thin as you can. The bacon should take about 3-5 minutes to fully render and become crispy.
8. Remove bacon from the pan onto a small dish, making sure to leave the olive oil and rendered bacon fat in the pan. It will be added back in later.
9. In the same pan, add the onions, red pepper flakes, a couple of turns of freshly cracked black pepper and a pinch of salt and return to medium heat.
10.  Cook the onions until they start to break down and lose their crunch, about 5 minutes. At this point add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes until the garlic becomes fragrant.
11. Open the can of tomatoes and place into a medium mixing bowl. Using clean hands, smash the tomatoes until they become uniformly chunky.
12.  Add the tomato into the pan with the onions and garlic and return to medium heat.
13. Add the bacon back into the pan.
14. Cook for about a minute and add the cooked pasta. Pick leaves off fresh herbs and add to the pan.
15. Add the reserved cooking water and return pan to the heat and cook until the sauce coats the noodles and doesn’t pool up in the pan.
16. Place on a large serving platter and garnish with freshly grated pecorino and a hearty drizzle of high-quality olive oil.

You can obtain endives here here.