Tomatoes simmered with onion, garlic, and bacon, and spiced up with plenty of black pepper – a flavorful, easy-to-make pasta sauce perfect for a weeknight.
On Friday mornings, I take Spanish lessons with my sweet friend Lynda. Ligia, our fantastic, patient, Spanish teacher, is also a great cook and our conversations often turn to cooking. This recipe is one of many of her favorites and she wanted to make it for us. So last week after Spanish class we had a little cooking class and she taught us how to make this simple, but delicious pasta sauce.
Espagueti a la matrichana/Spaghetti all’Amatriciana is often made with pancetta, but Ligia prefers to make it with peppered bacon. She also likes her bacon very crisp and cooks it in the microwave to get it extra crispy. If tomatoes are in season, she likes to use fresh tomatoes.
Thanks Ligia for sharing this recipe. I can see why it’s one of your favorites. My family loved it too.
Spaghetti Matrichana
Ingredients
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
- Salt and pepper to taste you want a strong pepper flavor
- 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon optional
- 8 oz slice bacon* fried crisp and crumbled
- 1 lb spaghetti cooked according to package directions
Instructions
- In a medium frying pan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until softened and browned. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper, and chicken bouillion. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes crush the tomatoes with a potato masher.
- Add crumbled bacon and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over spaghetti.
Notes
More pasta recipes your might like:
Linguine in Lemon Cream Sauce, Barbara Bakes
Light Creamy Pesto Ravioli, Barbara Bakes
Late Night Pasta, Tracey’s Culinary Adventures
Tex-Mex Chicken & White Cheddar Spaghetti, Lauren’s Latest
Whole Wheat Spaghetti with a Slow Simmered Meat Sauce, For the Love of Cooking
gail philport
Hi Barbara,
Love your recipes, but also love your seashell plates. Can you tell med where I can get a set like yours and what brand they are.
Thanks,
Gail
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Gail. Aren’t they fun plates. I picked them up on a trip to California years ago and I only have two bowls. They are from Mud Pie http://mud-pie.com/Living/
Deborah
I didn’t know you took Spanish lessons – how fun!! And I love this dish – one of my favorite ways to eat spaghetti!
Winnie
That is awesome! I wish I could speak another language. My high school French is all but gone now. I was able to pick out words when I went to Paris. I think it is great to take lessons from a frienc and enjoy the time together. I can’t wait to try this recipe. I am actually trying to grow tomatoes this year so many I will have fresh ones to use! Bacon makes everything tasty. Hubby has the chicken with bacon rub on his list for me to try!
Barbara
Good luck with the tomatoes – homegrown are so much tastier. How fun to know even a little French in Paris. I love that city.
Baker Street
Wow! Looks scrumptious barb! Love the use of peppered bacon! Combining culture and food is a great idea. Surely this was a fun class! 🙂
Sara (Belly Rumbles)
What a fun and educational class.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
What fun that must have been! Combining learning a new language with the language of delicious food! How long have you been learning Spanish mum? 😀 xxx
Barbara
I’ve been taking lessons for a couple of years now, but I don’t practice and I don’t study much, so I’m a slow learner. I do enjoy it though.
Swathi
It is nice to have a private cooking class. Looks delicious and it is simple too.
Lynda
This pasta looks yummy and with bacon it must be delicious.
How fun to have a private cooking class Barbara.
Rocky Mountain Woman
I hadn’t heard of this sauce before, can’t wait to give it a try! I think I’ll wait for fresh tomatoes….
yum!
Jen @ Savory Simple
I’ve never heard of Spaghetti Matrichana! Adding bacon or pancetta to tomato sauce sounds brilliant!
CJ at Food Stories
I love peppered bacon so I bet this one’s great 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes
Delish! And I think I would go for the peppered bacon too.