Amatriciana—or matriciana, depending on whom you ask—is one of Rome’s most beloved and controversial pasta dishes, sparking endless debates over its origin, name, and ingredients. Many point to the town of Amatrice in northern Lazio as its birthplace, and indeed, the city hall there has a version of the recipe officially registered. But urban Romans claim it as their own, some dropping the initial "a" and tracing the name not to the town, but to matrici, stamps once seared into cured pork products. What likely started as a tomato-sauced evolution of gricia has now become a symbol of Roman culinary identity. The arguments don’t stop at the name. Purists insist on guanciale, San Marzano tomatoes, and Pecorino Romano, while others claim pancetta is just fine, the heat can come from black pepper or peperoncino, and to some onions and garlic are welcome. Though in 2015, Michelin-starred chef Carlo Cracco stirred the pot by adding garlic to his version, prompting a national outcry that people are still talking about a decade later. The pasta shape is up for grabs, too—bucatini was classic, but rigatoni mezze maniche, and bombolotti have robbed the long noodle of its place (I’m not mad about it; bucatini is the world’s worst shape). I like to serve amatriciana with potato gnocchi, which is pure luxury, but mezze maniche and bombolotti work great and offer the possibility of catching a guanciale chunk in their tubular architecture.