As fall winds up and the days cool, your opportunities to use fresh tomatoes are dwindling fast. To bid adieu to this spectacularly juicy summer fruit, we’re grabbing the last of our heirlooms and whipping up chef Joe Sasto‘s marinated tomato “amatriciana.” But this dish doesn’t resemble the one you’re probably imagining.
“You hear ‘amatriciana,’ you think pasta with cured pork jowls, right? Well, think of this as a light, summery, salad version of that famous dish,” Sasto writes in his cookbook, Breaking the Rules: A Fresh Take on Italian Classics. “I took all the elements of the Roman pasta sauce — pork, tomato, chile, and Pecorino — and made an ‘amatriciana’ that I’m more than happy to eat on even the hottest summer night.”
And of course, as with most dishes, the quality of your ingredients definitely matters. “Use the juiciest heirloom tomatoes you can find (or any mix of ripe, summertime tomatoes),” he continues, “and serve with bread to sop up the mixture of rich guanciale fat, sweet tomato juice, and lemony dressing.” The whole dish comes together in under an hour and serves a crowd. That said, we also think this is the perfect dinner to slurp up solo.
Marinated Tomato “Amatriciana”
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
- 3 large heirloom tomatoes (about 2 pounds)
- 1 bunch fresh chives, finely chopped
- 4 fresh parsley sprigs, leaves removed and finely chopped, plus extra for garnish
- 2 fresh dill sprigs, leaves removed and finely chopped, plus extra for garnish
- 1 medium shallot, diced
- 1 medium lemon, zest grated
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar Kosher salt and freshly ground
- black pepper
- 4 ounces guanciale or pancetta, cut into 1/4 x 1-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano
Instructions
- Cut the tomatoes into large, nonuniform pieces, removing any stem bits. In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes with half the chives, half the parsley, half the dill, the shallot, lemon zest, olive oil, and vinegar. Season generously with salt and pepper and let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the guanciale and cook gently, stirring every so often, until the pieces are golden and most of the fat has cooked out, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining chives (set a tablespoon or so aside for garnish), parsley, and dill and turn off the heat.
- Arrange the tomatoes on a serving platter and pour over the warm, herby fat and crispy guanciale. Grate over the Pecorino and garnish with the reserved chives and extra chopped parsley and dill.
Excerpted from Breaking the Rules: A Fresh Take on Italian Classics. Copyright © 2025 Joe Sasto. Photography copyright © 2025 by Galdones Photography. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
