It is popular throughout Italy from north to south, but particularly in the south. In the north it is served with tomato based sauces; in Sicily, it is served with fish pastas.
In Lazio (Latium), the region that Rome is in, the famous dish is Bucatini all’Amatriciana, served with amatriciana sauce and named after the town of Amatrice (which is actually in the neighbouring region of Abruzzo.)
The pasta is made with a machine that extrudes it.
It can be hard to eat bucatini tidily because it’s very slippery and heavy.
Cooking Tips
Bucatini will take a minute or two longer to cook than other pastas. But, it can very quickly go from just right to too soft particularly because of its hollow middle.
When cooked just tender to the bite, it is very toothsome with a texture that stands up well to stronger tasting sauces.
Substitutes
Spaghetti
Language Notes
“Buco” means hole. Called “perciatelli” in Naples.