Calabrian 'Amatriciana' Pasta Course: How to Make Jonica with Red Pepper Sauce
Learn how to prepare a bold and balanced Pasta with Red Pepper Pasta Sauce—a Calabrian Amatriciana called Pasta alla Jonica. This pasta recipe is a masterclass in layering sweetness, acidity, and umami—perfect for summer or anytime you want Southern Italian intensity in your bowl. Recipe + Video
Ingredients
- 500 g datterini tomatoes or plum or cherry tomatoes
- 300 g San Marzano tomatoes
- 500 g red bell pepper about 1 large
- 2 cloves garlic
- 200 g guanciale
- 100 g Pecorino cheese
- olive oil only if the guanciale doesn't produce enough fat after frying to sauté the garlic
- 3 pinches fine salt or to taste
- 1 handful fresh basil
- 320 g spaghetti
Instructions
Boil or Roast the Red Pepper
- Boil or roast the sweet red pepper to cook it and remove the skin of the pepper. We recommend roasting the pepper for best flavor (gas stovetop, oven or air fryer). See the article above for pepper roasting details.
- Cover the cooked pepper and let it steam for 10 minutes before removing the pepper skin. Removing the skin will be super easy!
Purée the Tomatoes and Roasted Red Pepper
- Score, blanch and peel the datterini and San Marzano tomatoes. You can also use good-quality canned peeled tomatoes if fresh ones aren’t available. Just be sure to remove the excess water and seeds from the canned tomatoes before the purée.
- Purée the peeled tomatoes with the roasted red pepper.
Cook the Guanciale
- In a large pan (no oil yet!), cook the guanciale over medium heat until golden and crispy. If the guanciale does not produce enough fat to sauté the garlic, add a little olive oil. However, guanciale is quite fatty and should render plenty of fat.
Make the Red Pepper and Tomato Sauce
- Add whole smashed garlic to the rendered guanciale fat and sauté briefly. When the garlic turns golden, remove it. Its work is done!
- Then add the tomato/pepper purée to the fat along with a few pinches of salt. Simmer everything for about 10 minutes. In the meantime...
Finish with Pasta
- Boil the spaghetti in salted water until al dente. Reserve some pasta water before draining.
- Toss the spaghetti into the sauce, adding a bit of pasta water if needed to help everything bind. Turn off the heat and add pecorino cheese and fresh basil. Stir to combine.
- Serve Immediately! Top with a bit more pecorino and basil if you like.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!