A Weeknight trip to Rome

One of my favorite things to do is to watch cooking shows, and two of my favorite TV chefs are Giada and Anthony Bourdain.  Both of which had episodes recently that featured Roman-inspired dishes.  To give myself some credit, I think I make pretty decent Italian food for a little Irish-southern girl, so I thought I'd attempt a new pasta dish (can you tell we bought a ton of pasta at BJs recently?!).  Both shows I watched featured a dish called Amatrciana that seemed simple enough to prepare, but really seemed to wow the chefs. 

Ingredients for amatriciana:

1 pound linguini (preferably it's with bucatini, but we didn't have any)
8 oz bacon lardons (again, supposed to be made with guanciale, but bacon will do!)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 teaspoon or more of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup of freshly chopped basil
Salt and pepper

Bacon rendering

Bring water to a boil in a large stock pot and season with salt.  When water is at a rapid boil add the pasta and cook until al dente. 

Chopped garlic, onions, and parmesan

Sauteed vegetables

In a large frying pan, add the bacon to a unheated pan, then turn the heat on medium and cook until bacon is crisp and fat is rendered.  Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and put on a paper-towel.  Pour out some of the bacon fat, leaving enough for the onions and garlic.  Put the pan back on the medium heated burner and add the onions, garlic, red pepper, salt, and pepper.  Cook while stirring so that the garlic doesn't burn for 10 minutes or until the onions start to soften.  Add the wine and crushed tomatoes.  Cook for another 10 minutes.  When ready to serve, add the parmesan, bacon, and basil back into the sauce.  Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir to combine.  Serve with a garnish of more parmesan and basil.  

Finished sauce