Marchigiana-style bucatini

Name: Marchigiana-style bucatini
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 80 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Bucatini pasta 11.3 oz; Peeled tomatoes 1.7 cups; Prosciutto crudo (whole piece) 9.5 oz; Carrots 4.3 oz; Celery 1.3 cups; Onions about 1 medium onion 4.2 oz; Pecorino cheese 2.1 oz; Red wine 3 oz; Water 2.8 oz; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Serving: 4
Cost: Average

PRESENTATION

Marchigiana-style bucatini comes from the inland reaches of Le Marche, where the cooking runs on slow-built, deeply flavored sauces rather than the seafood the region is better known for. This one starts with a soffritto of celery, carrot, and onion, takes on depth from cubed prosciutto crudo and a pour of red wine, then the tomatoes go in and everything cooks down into a thick, enveloping sauce that clings to every hollow in the pasta.

Bucatini earns its place here—the long, hollow tubes hold this kind of dense sauce better than most shapes. At the finish, pecorino is worked in through a mantecatura, stirred vigorously into the sauce off the heat until it binds everything together and pulls a sharper, saltier edge through the dish. That's what gives it its decisive character.

How to prepare Marchigiana-style bucatini

To prepare bucatini alla marchigiana, first finely chop the celery 1, the carrot 2 and the onion. Cut the prosciutto crudo into very small cubes as well 3.

Put the chopped vegetables into a large skillet with a drizzle of oil 4 and sauté over medium-high heat for about ten minutes, stirring often 5. Add the prosciutto crudo 6 and brown everything for another 5 minutes.

Deglaze with the red wine 7 and allow it to evaporate completely. In the meantime, crush the peeled tomatoes with a fork 8, then add them to the skillet 9.

Season with salt and pepper and pour in the water 10. Cover with a lid and let simmer over low heat for one hour 11. After 50 minutes, cook the bucatini in boiling salted water 12.

Drain the pasta al dente and transfer it to the skillet 13, then add a ladleful of the cooking water 14 and a drizzle of oil 15.

Toss with grated pecorino 16 and mix well to incorporate the sauce 17. Your bucatini alla marchigiana are ready to be served with extra pecorino to taste 18!