Food Lab Basics: POV Bucatini All'Amatriciana (Plus a Bonus Salad!)

Bucataini All'Amatriciana is one of the four classic Roman pasta dishes, and like the other three - cacio e pepe, carbonara, and alla Gricia - it's flavored with Pecorino Romano and black pepper. This guy also has some guanciale (cured pork jowl - though here I'm using some cured pork belly that's similar to pancetta), and uniquely among the four dishes, tomatoes.
It's a fast dish - the sauce can be made in the amount of time it takes to cook the pasta (though it doesn't hurt to make it in advance) - and it's one of my favorites.
Our neighbors also had some great looking arugula, so I made an arugula salad on the side (with some of my toddler's half-eaten apple and whatever cheese I could find in the fridge). Bonus science lesson on the importance of vinaigrettes.
PLEASE READ!
The coronavirus has hit many folks hard, including first responders and hospital workers, individuals and families who were already food insecure, and service industry employees who are, for the large part, currently out of a job.
My goal is to help fix both these problems in the best way I know how to contribute: organizing people, and cooking food.
If you would like to donate to our free meal fund, head to www.toasttab.com/wursthall/ where you can buy a boxed meal for someone in need. These boxes go directly to the frontline workers and food insecure families who have been hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. They also allow me to hire back my kitchen team to cook and pack these meals (in a safe, clean way). So far we have served nearly 500 meals, and the number goes up every week.
If you would like to make a monthly recurring donation of any size, head to my Patreon account at / kenjilopezalt . 100% of the proceeds go directly to the free meal fund. You can also help by buying my books at bookshop.org/shop/kenjilopezalt where 100% of my sales commission goes to the free meal fund, and an additional 10% goes to independent book stores around the country.
Finally, stay safe. Here is my guide to food safety and the coronavirus, written with the consultation of virologists, food safety experts, and infectious disease specialists, and kept up to date as new research emerges: www.seriouseats.com/2020/03/f...

[@mikerotchbernz4789]

My man is recording every meal he makes

[@indianasquatchunters]

Dutin Cooking is his life and since he can’t do his job temporarily he’s gotta have an outlet. Plus positive feedback from fans :)

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Yeah and I’m so glad he is

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Good.

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Frankbrooo It’s great, I love his commentary and I always learn a thing or two from his videos

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But what's his endgame??

[@oAbraksas]

Kenji got crazy, uploads every 8 hours, seriously this makes quarantine easier

[@frozzie108]

Abraxas he just posting every meal

[@iSAMMMMMMMMMMMMMY]

Absolute treat might I say

[@networkn]

@@frozzie108 Even if he is JUST doing that, I am thankful :)

[@giantqtipz6577]

he posted one earlier today at like 3am ET. I was like, dont you sleep bro?

[@RubyKaneki]

human need eat food for live kenji human to and eating and need cooking for eating XD

[@Somesortadog]

Kenji: It's ok to use pork belly instead of cured pork jowl. Me through a mouthful of Cheetos: Ugh, that's so inauthentic!

[@dehsaW]

When you see Kenji putting some sauce aside you know there's gunna be a saucy late night vid using it

[@lucienwirz6712]

Kenji: I‘gonna make a salad since it doesn‘t involve carbs or cheese Also Kenji: Puts various cheeses in said salad

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He said it’s been a carbfest... he never said the dish is cheese-free. Stupid breeds stupid...

[@scrums4748]

Bacon Egg and Please what does this have to do with your lineage

[@Gilh]

@@kurtisfifty salad is also carbs so he basically made another carbs+cheese meal

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5:07 The sound of knife hitting cutting board *dog approaches*

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Pavlov's Dog much..?

[@meinoly809]

Kenji: *explains spanakopita* Me: Ah yes, Kronk’s spinach puffs

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how do i favorite this comment and barbarino's reply

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asking for a friend

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15:26

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So glad there's a KZbin chef that isn't afraid of salt and garlic. Subscribed indefinitely

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Most of those chefs you're referring to arent chefs. Real Chefs always use a lot of salt

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Kenji is a real chef ahahaha!

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J is single-handedly saving my corona quarantine with the massive amount of content he's bringing out. Thank you.

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Present kenji : you’re a jerk Future kenji : I’m you

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This guy’s good, he should become a chef one day

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Jordan Johnston IKR? He has got some talent!

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I think he is he has his own resturant I believe too correct me if I'm wrong

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Nino Brassi missed the joke bud

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@@ThatOneGolurk actually you missed the joke pal.

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David Sandlin | No, you’re wrong. You both and I missed the joke, bud.

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at the start of every video it looks like he's contemplating his entire life but all he is doing is staring the recording on his phone lol

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"I got no nuts, oh well" - Kenji 2020

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Arvind Venkatesan ill let someone else find that

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sounds like a future kenji problem to me

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Sounds like something his dogs would say

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get this man his nuts

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HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA! YOU HEAR THAT GUYS? HE SAID NUTS!!

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Thank you for your simple, down to earth recipes "live" from your kitchen, showing us it's not hard to make good and conforting meals at home every day !

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"Those hazelnuts don't smell fresh" *puts them back in the pantry*

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"And the reason that is...." NOM NOM NOM Eats both leaves like a Diplodocus

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What a legend

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A video I'd like to see is how Kenji cleans up the kitchen after a full meal is made. Things as how to proceed, order of cleaning items, disinfecting surfaces, tips in general, etc.

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Kenji's regular uploads are the best thing ever during quarantine! :) Thank you for doing this!!!

[@JohannesWiberg]

Does a salad because there's been too much carbs and cheese. Also: Salad made from leafy greens and two kinds of cheese. :D I'm certainly not complaining though!

[@92edro]

really valuable and interesting fact that an acidic sauce will slow the pasta cooking process by lowering the rate at which water is absorbed. thanks for being out there chef kenji

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I’m glad you’re posting these videos during a time like this

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Kenji was dropping hardcore knowledge throughout this video. My man!

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As a 20-something single chef living in small apartments with roommates - so jealous of your kitchen set up man. Can’t wait to have a space I can set up to function the way yours does. Recently found your channel and I honestly think you have the best cooking channel. Love how you take the knowledge of a fast paced kitchen into the home. Keep em coming chef. 10/10

[@Shadow6212]

I really love when you explain something with scientific point of view... Such as mentioning the nature of hydrophobic/hydrophilic molecules. It makes cooking much more interesting and it gives you a much greater perception of how different ingredients work together.

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10:56 As long as you're relatively gentle with it... 1 second later: BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG

[@MogWV]

"This is exactly how we would do it at the restaurant." ...wait, what? "Just kidding. Different rules for home and work." *whew*

[@mariospeedwagen]

I thought he was silly for unnecessarily explaining his sarcasm, surely no one would be daft enough to think he was serious, but this is the internet after all.

[@ethanmarino931]

@@mariospeedwagen agreed

[@MrWoodard91]

Thank you so much for doing these frequent uploads. They really are helping with the severe anxiety I am experiencing. You’re an absolutely amazing chef and obviously a good person. I don’t even like checking or following recipes but every time I make a new dish I check to see if you have a recipe.

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Bless you for this bountiful gift, Kenji.

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Kenji I seriously can't thank you enough for your blog Thanks for making making great cooking accessible and not intimidating

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Stay safe Kenji, thank you for keeping us entertained.

[@HijabsandAprons]

I don't even eat pork and I'm sitting here watching, taking (mental) notes like my life depends on it.

[@indianasquatchunters]

Hijabs and Aprons Duck pancetta is a good substitute if you ever want to make this

[@HijabsandAprons]

@@indianasquatchunters Thank you so much for that suggestion!! 🙏🏼

[@GirishManjunathMusic]

@@indianasquatchunters pancetta... Is still pork.

[@GirishManjunathMusic]

@@xXJokerAtWorkXx oh! I guess I did!

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Using a pastry cutter to break up things in a pan is a hell of a tip. Probably never would have occurred to me on my own. The little things like that are why I will always tune in to your videos and read your stuff. Well, that and the entertainment value. Thanks again Kenji.

[@robdilorenzo9204]

As a chemist, thank you for using "hydrophobic" instead of "lipophilic". That made my day.

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I love the way he said "in person" when speaking about what he learned from Jacques Pépin. It felt like a cross between a (justified) brag and an excited disclosure about meeting a culinary legend.

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This series is exactly what the world needs right now... some realness. Thanks, dude!

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11:35 excellent explanation about language and culture against the backdrop of food, this has been my area of research (minus the food) for the last few years now and you explained an ideal anti-prescriptivist stance a lot better than I would have!

[@Subdivision229]

This man is blessing us with daily content

[@jack-o-diamonds]

I made this, and the techniques Kenji dropped elevated my pasta game big time. Delicious Amatriciana.

[@JacobGiddensaLaCarte]

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes and I was stoked to see you take a swing at it!

[@iandonahue8280]

It is impressive how easy you make cooking all of this stuff so quickly and easily. Love your work Kenji

[@TheVenusEagles]

something so soothing about these. you've given me ideas on what to do with the ingredients i need to ration but also need to use up before they spoil

[@LucasWestistheBest]

Thank you Kenji! Just made this tonight and it was delicious! The info about the oil wilting leaves is also super useful, keep up the amazing videos!

[@cookman08]

Love these videos. Also, I love that Kenji's kitchen is clearly a place where shit gets done. I often have to remind myself not to stress about how tidy my kitchen is and these videos def help with that. One thing I really want to get better about, though, is making use of anything and everything (like that apple), which clearly requires a certain amount of creativity.

[@ChickenFingers42]

These videos are such a nice relaxing break!

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I love everything about this. So calming. Like a friend talking to us. These are well done. I love the handwashing.

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Ur wife and ur kids are lucky!! U cook every meal for them.... ^^... I’m enjoying ur cooking... U show cooking in real kitchen and easy recipes which people just make it after they watch ur cooking video . Love it!!!! Have a good Sunday with cooking....

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These high upload count days are amazing and appreciated, thanks Kenji :) Keep it up, we love to see it!

[@erichenao6537]

You know what's great about these? SEEING the cook in action from the POV. Also it feels like it's in real time. Not on a set of a film studio where everything is perfect. THIS is what I feel will finally unlock the cooking techniques. Like…seeing just how stocked his fridge is. Mine isn't that full, does it need to be? No, but it's clear where I have room to expand. Seeing the boiling hot water, adding salt… seeing how he cooks the Lardons… It's more the subtle work of how he goes about doing the EVERY SINGLE STEPS that makes this real and for me, something i can relate to. THANK you . You've been a cooking hero of mine since the great chocolate cookie experiment. Keep up the amazing content and stay safe!

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If there’s one good thing to come out of quarantine it’s all these uploads 👌🏿

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i love the lil science lessons throughout these vids, always informative

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love how often your uploading. gives me enough time to learn something new before i cook for myself

[@deadfr0g]

This is madness! At this point I think I’ve been watching Kenji make food more than I’ve actually been making food for myself. I mean, I don’t really get to eat anything at the end when I let him do the cooking, but it’s been really great otherwise.

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just gonna say that its so nice to see you posting regularly again! your videos are always so nice and calming and i've made so many of your recipes, they're always delicious!

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I love watching you cook. These videos are awesome

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You’re killing it with these uploads. Great content

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Grateful for the quarantine that you are back making delicious food and my belly is happy with all these shared goodness

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Thank you for all the content right now Kenji. Really helps

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Kenji you are a hero - these POV videos are awesome! Making quarantine just a little bit more bearable! Thanks

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“They don’t smell fresh.” And back into the cabinet they go!

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Corona sucks but there’s always a silver lining. The best one being you have been posting so many videos.

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I love these keep em coming!

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This format is amazing man, all those little anecdotes are great! Keep up the good content!

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he's really pumping these out. thanks for all the pasta!

[@Sansquancho]

Man I've been lurking on your videos for a while and I gotta say, I am very pleased to see somebody else loves pasta as much as I do.

[@Adeline9418]

I'm gonna eat the tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch. Soup turned out amazing. The bread made it savory. Red pepper flakes made it zingy!!!!!

[@tommysinsxxx]

you’ve got yourself a spot at Olive Garden the way you grating cheese, my man

[@simplymerofl]

As a greek watching i feel proud listening to you talk about spanakopita! :)

[@etito9865]

I really love your POV videos, thank you so much.

[@GMochileiro_42_]

This man is a sport chef i swear haha he always has a certain pace which is faster than most i watch.

[@yay-cat]

I was gonna say that acid like uncooks greens (so opposite of damage from salad dressing) but that’s kinda what Kenji said at the end about the acid and the pasta (I didn’t know it was applicable to pasta too so kudos) Thanks for inviting us all over to dinner at yours everyday Kenji!

[@mm8436]

Just finished the last two videos and now this? Wow!

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He is a man of science and food! I love this channel!

[@aristotelis1997]

I recentrly got hooked with this channel, i love that you mix food science in the whole process and that the whole cooking experience is genuine (cutting and washing the dishes and that stuff) , i always feel that the youtube chefs edit out all the hard work while you make it look fun and part of the process. I'd love to hear more theory behind cooking like the experiment you did. Keep it on!

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These videos should be titled "How to use 100 kitchen appliances for 1 meal"

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I love these, I look forward to you uploading every day!

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I really enjoy the commentary and history of the dish !

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This guy is so knowledgeable on food/cooking its crazy

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This guy never eats the same meal twice. With all these videos he is pumping out

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cheese, pasta, tomato and egg week at kenjis house

[@indianasquatchunters]

John Doee relatively cheap and delicious

[@melquiqarchy1632]

In fact, the hydrophobic layer around leaves enable them to keep the water in the organisme and prevent it from évaporation more than protecting leaves from the rain :)

[@meinoly809]

Kenji: acid in your salad prevents the leaves from going limp as fast Me: *pours lemon juice on boyfriend*

[@indianasquatchunters]

psychocolate fresh

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Remember to take him out of the oven because I think he just got roasted.

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I'm in heaven with all these posts. Best part of my corn teen.

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This posting schedule is amazing!

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You're spoiling us, I love it!

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Turn the handle of your frying pan to the side so your kid doesn't reach up and pull it down on top of herself, gosh dang it. The food looks super good, I love this channel

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These videos are a great time passer. A lot of good little tips.

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Love watching the way you cook.

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Hi Kenji, Roman here. I give you your personal ROMAN COOKING PASS that allows you to cook roman dishes and pronounce them in every way you like, don’t worry! The only condition is that you keep doing this amazing work Greetings from Tivoli Terme (20 kms away from Rome)

[@tomatojuice12]

What a great video - so valuable to anybody trying to learn to be a better cook.

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Thanks so much for the videos, Kenji! Keep them coming 😬

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I have all this in my cupboard and you just made me really peckish. Thanks for all the uploads!

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These videos are the greatest. Many thanks

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I like how his dog knows when the food is done and is waiting next to him while he finishes the plate :D

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What a smooth transition from that cleaning the board to sizzling bacon. After you finished cleaning the board, that sizzling was still there, who else wondered?!

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My feed is quickly turning into kenji-tube and I'm not complaining.

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The dog is well practiced and knows where the scraps end up.

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Kenji I love watching these videos please keep making them

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Yes please a grilled cheese video! Your late night grilled cheese video is what got me into your channel.

[@thezian]

TY for the spatula maker, I've been wondering about that for a few videos now

[@madmonk3030]

This is a new one for me, I'll definitely have to try it!