Great victory for one of the most typical (and historic) dishes of traditional Italian cuisine: Amatriciana, has been definitively recognized by the European Union as a traditional specialty guaranteed STG against imitations and fakes around the world. A double victory because spaghetti all'amatriciana has become the cult dish of the town of Rieti's desire for rebirth which was badly hit by the earthquake four years ago.
An Amatriciana for Amatrice was chosen as the title of an international solidarity initiative for the post-earthquake started by the Fiepet Confesercenti restaurateurs in collaboration with the National Association of Wine Cities which involved hundreds of catering companies, in Italy, but also abroad , in the United States, Mexico, Brazil and France, which have proposed an 'amatriciana for reconstruction' on their menu, raising over 100.000 euros.
And this gives the sense of how Amatriciana, a dish that has always been indispensable for the millions of tourists who disembark in Rome, has achieved international fame.
It is the definitive recognition by the European Union of a symbolic dish of the earthquake in Central Italy - underlines Coldiretti - with the traditional Amatriciana sauce, made "according to the production method and the age-old recipe of the Amatrice area". An acknowledgment that comes with unanimous consent given that in the three months available for any observations no one has raised any objections. The traditional character of Amatriciana is linked to the ingredients used and the specific method of preparation traditionally used in the Monti della Laga area, from which the preparation originates. With the registration in the STG register for Coldiretti it becomes even more important to guarantee the use of 100% Made in Italy ingredients, from national wheat for pasta with tomato sauce, from pecorino cheese to bacon obtained from pigs reared in Italy.
There is no doubt that the notoriety of Amatrice - a town included in the list of the most beautiful villages in Italy - is mainly linked, despite its long history, to the gastronomic and culinary tradition which has found its maximum expression in the spaghetti recipe all'Amatriciana. This dish is based on typical ingredients and on a simple but at the same time meticulous preparation both in the operations and in the use of particular utensils, such as, for example, the iron pan to cook the sauce.
A long history: from Gricia to Amatriciana
The municipality of Amatrice is keen to underline that the goodness of the recipe and the extraordinary professionalism of numerous Roman restaurateurs originating from Amatrice who descended on Rome at the beginning of the century to open small restaurants and taverns have made "spaghetti all'Amatriciana" a fundamental part of Italian cuisine .
In reality, the amatriciana as we know it today was born with the sauce in white and only at the end of the 1700s was it enriched with tomatoes.
The ancestor of the amatriciana is, in fact, the Gricia (or Griscia), which does not include the use of tomatoes. According to some, the name derives from a small village a few kilometers from Amatrice, a hamlet in the municipality of Accumoli, called Grisciano. According to another version, the name would come from gricio, the name by which the seller of bread and other edibles was called in XNUMXth-century Rome. A group of these, immigrants from the Swiss canton of Grisons, would have given rise to the term.
The invention of tomato sauce, which marked the transition from Griscia to Amatriciana, dates back to the end of the 1790th century: There is a first written testimony of the use of tomato sauce to season pasta which can be found in the manual of cuisine L'Apicio Moderno, written in XNUMX by the Roman chef Francesco Leonardi.
Consequence of its success, the amatriciana ended up being conjugated in various variations, also depending on the availability of some ingredients. While everyone agrees on the use of guanciale, the tomato is not mentioned in Gosetti's manual. The onion is not used in Amatrice, but is reported in the classic manuals of Roman cuisine. Although in the older recipes no cooking fat is indicated, or rather the fat from the bacon is used, usually extra virgin olive oil is used as cooking fat. The use of lard is also attested.
The use of garlic sautéed in extra virgin olive oil, before adding the guanciale, is also possible, while both Roman and Amatrice pecorino (coming from the Sibillini or Monti della Laga) can be used as cheese. , just as the use of black pepper or chilli is attested. Finally, there are four types of pasta most common over time to be seasoned with amatriciana: spaghetti, bucatini, tonnarelli or rigatoni.
Two great admirers: Giulio Andreotti and Aldo Fabrizi
Among the great fans of Amatriciana we must mention Giulio Andreotti who was fond of the Bucatini version, as reported in the film "Il Divo" by Paolo Sorrentino.
A great admirer of the Amatriciana was also the great actor Aldo Fabrizi, who prided himself on being a true gourmet. In the film Waitress Beautiful Presence, talking to Elsa Merlini, she unflinchingly exposes her idea of Amatriciana: bacon (no bacon), nothing goes in the sauté, neither garlic nor onion. In the tomato sauce, there is chilli pepper. And he dedicated a poem in spaghetti version to the Matriciana:
MY MATRICIANA
Fry in seasoned pan,
onion, ojo, fiery ginger,
half a pound of smoked bacon
and a half of rolled bacon.
Ar point that this stuff is browned,
splash it with scented vinegar
and with a live flame, when it has evaporated,
put the concentrated preserve.
Next to the nut that gives it flavour,
the fresh San Marzano tomatoes,
with a tuft of basil for the smell.
And when he gets sick, the sauce makes his eyes,
together with pecorino and parmesan,
season the spaghetti with prescia.
With this recognition, Italy consolidates its European leadership in quality productions with 301 PDO/PGI and STG denominations but also 415 DOC/DOCG wines, 5155 traditional regional products surveyed along the peninsula, leadership in the organic sector with over 60 organic farms, the decision not to cultivate genetically modified organisms (GMOs), 40 farms involved in storing seeds or plants at risk of extinction and the primacy of world food security.
The Italian gastronomic tradition - concludes Coldiretti - is the engine of an extensive agri-food chain, from fields to shelves and restaurants, which reaches a figure of 538 billion euros in Italy equal to 25% of GDP and offers work to 3,8 million employed. A success also ratified by a record in exports that could improve even more with more effective protection against international "agro-piracy" which has a turnover of over 100 billion euros billions of euros by improperly using words, colours, localities, images, denominations and recipes call to Italy for fake products that have nothing to do with the national reality.
THE DOC RECIPE OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF AMATRICE
With resolution 27/2015, the Municipality of Amatrice formalized the recipes, both of the white version and of the red version, in a De.CO (Municipal Denomination of Origin) production specification, simultaneously starting the process for the European recognition arrived today . As clearly indicated in the specification, neither garlic nor onion are included. Below is the doc recipe proposed by the Municipality of Amatrice
Doses for 4 people
500 g of spaghetti, 125 g of Amatrice cheek, a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil, a drop of dry white wine, 6 or 7 San Marzano tomatoes or 400 g of peeled tomatoes, a piece of chilli, 100 g of pecorino di Grated amatrice, salt.
execution
Put the oil, the chilli pepper and the bacon cut into small pieces in a pan, preferably an iron one, in the proportion of a quarter compared to the pasta, which is traditional and sacred for experts and, or put the bacon, i.e. the part of the pork jaw, or they are not spaghetti all'AMATRICIANA, only with it they will have an unsurpassed delicacy and sweetness.
Roast over high heat. Add the wine. Remove the pieces of bacon from the pan, drain well and keep them aside if possible warm, to avoid the risk of making them too dry and salty and they will remain softer and tastier.
