Neapolitan-style Paccheri

Name: Neapolitan-style Paccheri
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Paccheri pasta 11.3 oz; Jowls 0.8 lb; Canned tomatoes 3.3 cups; Onions 0.7 cup; Carrots 3 oz; Celery 0.7 cup; Tomato paste 2 tbsp; Pecorino Romano PDO cheese 1.1 oz; Basil to taste; Fine salt to taste

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Serving: 4
Cost: Low

PRESENTATION

Neapolitan-Style Paccheri is built around a single conviction: that tomato, given good company, needs nothing else to carry a dish. The sauce — polpa di pomodoro cooked down over a soffritto base — is the uncontested center of the plate, deepened by crispy guanciale and finished with grated pecorino and fresh basil. Paccheri earn their place here by design: their wide, cylindrical shape pulls the sauce inside each tube and holds it there.

The guanciale brings a savory richness that pancetta can't quite match, the pecorino sharpens every bite, and the basil keeps the whole thing bright. A short ingredient list, a generous result — paccheri alla napoletana at its most direct, as suited to Sunday lunch as it is to a relaxed dinner with friends.

How to prepare Neapolitan-style Paccheri

To prepare paccheri alla Napoletana, first remove the rind from the guanciale 1, then cut it into slices and finally into cubes about 0.79 in (2 cm) 2. Transfer the guanciale to a saucepan and turn on the heat 3.

Cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes 4, stirring occasionally so it browns evenly 5. In the meantime, prepare the soffritto: finely chop the onion 6.

Do the same with the carrots 7 and the celery 8. After the 15 minutes the guanciale will be golden, so add the chopped vegetables 9 and let them sauté for 5 minutes.

After having browned the vegetables as well, add the tomato paste 10 and the tomato pulp 11. Stir well with a spoon to deglaze the pan if needed 12 and cook the sauce for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After this time, the sauce will be nice and thick 13. Drain the paccheri cooked al dente into the sauce 14 and season with almost all of the grated Pecorino 15.

Fragrance with fresh basil leaves 16 and gently mix the contents of the saucepan so as not to break the paccheri 17. Turn off the heat and let rest for a minute, adjusting the salt if necessary 18.

Plate and finish with another sprinkling of Pecorino Romano 19 and a few fresh basil leaves 19. Your paccheri alla Napoletana are ready to be served 21!