Amatriciana originates from a recipe named gricia. Grici were what Romans—modern dwellers of Rome, not the ancient ones—called the sellers of bread and comestibles. They were so called in that a number of them emigrated from the Swiss canton of Grisons. According to another hypothesis, the name originates from the hamlet of Grisciano, in the comune of Accumoli, near Amatrice. The sauce - nowadays named also Amatriciana bianca - was prepared with guanciale and grated pecorino. At some point, a little olive oil was added to the recipe. In the 1960s, the Amatriciana sauce was still prepared in this way in Amatrice itself. The invention of the first tomato sauces dates back to the late 18th century. The first written record of pasta with tomato sauce can be found in the 1790 cookbook L'Apicio Moderno by Roman chefFrancesco Leonardi. The Amatriciana recipe became increasingly famous in Rome over the 19th and early 20th centuries, due to the centuries-old connection between Rome and Amatrice. The recipe was extremely well received and rapidly went on to be considered a classic of Roman cuisine, even though it originated elsewhere. The name of the dish in the Romanesco dialect eventually became matriciana due to the apheresis typical of this dialect. While tomato-less gricia is still prepared in central Italy, it is the tomato-enriched amatriciana that is better known throughout Italy and exported everywhere. While in Amatrice the dish is prepared with spaghetti, the use of bucatini has become extremely common in Rome and is now prevalent. Other types of dry pasta are also used, whereas fresh pasta is generally avoided.
Variants
The recipe is known in several variants depending, among other things, on the localavailability of certain ingredients. In Amatrice, the use of guanciale and tomato, onion is not favored, but is shown in the classical handbooks of Roman cuisine. For frying, olive oil is most commonly used, but strutto is used as well. The addition of garlic sauteed in olive oil, before adding the guanciale is also accepted, and for cheese either pecorino romano or Amatrice's pecorino can be used. The addition of black or chili pepper is common.
