The pasta that went straight into the best pasta file.
This Mafaldine Ameritriciana is an applewood-smoked amatriciana with ruffly mafaldine and a deeply caramelized tomato sauce. It is inspired by Clare de Boer, whose recipes have appeared here before and always seem to understand the assignment: familiar food, sharpened just enough to feel new.
It has the ruffles and comfort of lasagna, without the layering or the long afternoon. Just a wide pan, a little patience with the tomatoes, and pasta that knows exactly what to do with a smoky, glossy sauce.
Clare jokes that this kind of amatriciana “would not be eaten in Piazza Navona,” and that is exactly the charm. It is smoky, oniony, rosemary-scented, and more generously sauced than the traditional Italian version. So, yes, I’m posting it in the week leading up to the Fourth of July. Not because it is standard cookout food. It is not. But because it is bold, smoky, American-leaning, and completely right for pasta lovers at a summer table.
Ruffly mafaldine, applewood-smoked bacon, red onions, garlic, rosemary, tomatoes, red wine, olive oil, and Pecorino before they become the pasta that went straight into the best pasta file.
The pasta knew what to do
Traditional amatriciana often uses bucatini, but I made this with mafaldine, and I loved every ruffly bite. The ridges catch the sauce beautifully, while the wide ribbons make the whole dish feel special without making it fussy.
Those ruffled edges are why mafaldine works so well here: every fold catches the smoky, caramelized sauce.
My husband, who loves bacon, kept saying, “This pasta is soooo good. I love it.” That is usually the sign that a recipe is moving straight into the best pasta file.
The sauce is the whole story
The flavor comes from building the sauce in stages. First, the onions, garlic, bacon, and rosemary soften together. Then the tomatoes cook down until they become a sweet, sticky paste. Finally, the sauce gets loosened with wine and pasta water, so it turns glossy, bold, and clingy.
Don’t rush the tomato step. There is something about a sauce cooked slowly enough to change its mind. The tomatoes go from bright and sloshy to sweet, sticky, and deeply savory, and that is where this pasta earns its place in the best pasta file.
A few things that help
Use a wide, low-sided pan so the tomatoes reduce well. You’ll also want a large pasta pot, tongs, a wooden spoon, and a microplane or grater for Pecorino or Parmesan. A mandoline slicer is optional, but helpful if you want very thin, even onion slices.
Serve it with extra sauce spooned over the top, a little cheese, and maybe a simple green salad. Then watch how fast it disappears.
The kind of pasta that makes everyone stop talking for a minute, then ask when you’re making it again.
Ameritriciana with Bacon and Rosemary
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Soften the onions. Peel and slice the onions as thinly as possible. Add them to a wide, low-sided pot with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the onions are soft but not browned.
- Prep the garlic and bacon. While the onions soften, peel and thinly slice the garlic cloves. Slice the bacon into ½-inch slivers.
- Render the bacon gently. When the onions are soft but not browned, about 10 minutes, add the garlic, 1 rosemary sprig, chili flakes if using, and the bacon. Stir to separate the bacon pieces. Keep the heat low enough that the onions and bacon soften without frying. Cook, stirring often, until the garlic is soft and the bacon is translucent and has rendered plenty of fat, about 10 minutes more. Remove and discard the rosemary sprig.
- Reduce the tomatoes to a sweet paste. Pour in the tomatoes, season with salt, and turn the heat to high. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring more often as the sauce thickens. After the first 5 minutes, reduce the heat to medium if the sauce is bubbling too hard. Keep cooking until the tomatoes reduce to a tight, sweet, sticky paste and the bubbles become slower and thicker. Stir constantly near the end, almost like you are stir-frying the tomato sauce, so the sugars caramelize without burning.
- Deglaze and finish the sauce. When the sauce is thick enough that you can drag a spoon through the middle and it leaves a clear line, pour in the red wine. Bubble and stir over high heat, scraping up the caramelized bits from the pan, until the alcohol cooks off, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Bruise the remaining rosemary sprig to release its oils, then stir it into the sauce with the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta and loosen the sauce. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season it well with salt. Cook the pasta until it is 1 to 2 minutes shy of the package directions. While the pasta cooks, warm the sauce in a large pan with 1½ cups pasta water. Use the same pan you made the sauce in, if possible.
- Finish the pasta in the sauce. When the pasta is just shy of al dente, transfer it to the sauce with tongs, or drain it and reserve extra pasta water. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until the pasta is tender and the sauce juicily coats each piece. Add more pasta water as needed to keep the noodles glossy and twirlable.
- Serve with extra sauce and cheese. Spoon the extra sauce over the pasta, then finish with grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan.
Notes
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More Pasta Dinners from the Best Pasta File
If this Mafaldine Ameritriciana went straight into the best pasta file, these are the other pasta dinners I do not want to forget.
Oxtail Macaroni Gratin
A true special-occasion pasta with tender wine-braised oxtail, macaroni, and creamy Gruyère béchamel baked until golden. It is a project, yes, but the kind that earns its place in the best pasta file.
Chili Crisp Fettuccine Alfredo with Spinach
Creamy Alfredo meets the fiery crunch of chili crisp, with spinach folded in for just enough green. It is fast, rich, a little spicy, and very good for a cozy date night at home.
Easy One-Pot Roast Chicken Submerged in Buttery Noodles
Roast chicken and buttery noodles cook together in one pot with garlic, Parmesan, and rosemary. The noodles soak up all that rich, savory broth, which is exactly why this one is so easy to love.
If you’d like to see more, come find me on YouTube, 𝕏, and Instagram. You can also follow James T. here on the blog and on Instagram at @WarpSpeedWags.
If you make this Mafaldine Ameritriciana, I’d love to hear how it turned out. Tell me what pasta shape you used: ruffly mafaldine, classic bucatini, or something short and sturdy like mezzi rigatoni. Your comments and shares help more people find these recipes, and I appreciate every one.
5 responses to “Mafaldine Ameritriciana with Bacon and Rosemary”
Saying hello from Down Under I am truly smiling at your comment at cooking from your heart ‘unapologetically brash American’ . . . that delights me in its honesty . . . as there are differences, but why may there not be honest ones which suit 🙂 ! You feel more in love with garlic for one thing . . . and I love the shape of the mafaldine which looks cozily inviting! Oh, the wine to put away – pray which one would that be . . . I mean one pours into the pot and the glass the cook is holding at the same time . . .
Eha, hello from Florida. You got it right. I’m always here for extra garlic and those mafaldine ruffles. And I never mind pouring one for myself too. Thank you for such a lovely comment.
Delicious! I haven’t seen James T. in a while. I hope he’s doing okay.
He’s doing great, thank you for asking! I’ve been keeping the recipe posts a little more food-focused lately, but James T. is still very much around, keeping me company in the kitchen and supervising everything.
That makes sense, and it’s good to hear that he is doing great. Thank you, Robin.