MATRICIANA CASERECCE

This is one of the most popular pasta dishes, born in Amatrice, a town near the italian capital.
People from Rome, who love it very much, knocked the "A" off the name, so it became matriciana.
This is my own way of making it, hot and easy!

for 4 people

500 g of  caserecce
200 g of guanciale - sliced and chopped - or diced bacon
350 g of datterini tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
100 ml of white wine
very little salt if needed
freshly grated parmesan cheese


Put the tomatoes in a bowl with 100 mls of water, cover the bowl with a lid suitable for microwave oven and cook at the maximum power for 4 minutes.
Let cool off and when they're cool you'll be able to peel their skin off fairly easily, then chop them.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil, when boiling add salt and caserecce.
Fry the shallot and bacon or the guanciale in a pan with olive oil and the crushed chillies. When the shallots are softened and the bacon has picked that gorgeous golden shade on all its sides it means you can add the wine. Keep the heat up and let the wine boil off.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes and let simmer until the sauce has reduced. Taste the sauce and add a little salt only if needed. Generally you won't need to add it because bacon is quite salty...unless you want to spend the entire night going back and forth looking for some water!
When caserecce are cooked al dente drain them and transfer them into the simmering sauce, stir for a while then serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and...buon appetito!