Pasta alla Gricia

Welcome back!

Today, we have the second in our series on the four Roman pastas: Pasta alla Gricia! This builds off of the concepts found in the Cacio e Pepe, this time introducing a new ingredient, guanciale, or cured pork jowl. This fatty cut is where this sauce gets its richness from, as the oils derived from the meat is what everything is eventually cooked in. You might also see this called "carbonara without egg", which may be technically true, but doesn't really capture the differences of the dishes.

Pasta alla Gricia

Makes about 4 servings

Ingredients:

12 ounces pasta (we used rigatoni, spaghetti is also used)
6 ounces guanciale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 ounces Pecorino Romano, grated

Don't forget to save some pasta water, about 1/2 to 1 cup.

Directions:

In a pan, cook the guanciale in the olive oil for about 5 minutes, until crispy. Once done, take the pan off the heat and remove the guanciale, but save the oil/fat.
Crush the black pepper, preferably using a mortar and pestle, but not too finely.
Cook the pasta in a pot of water with a teaspoon of salt, per the instructions on the pasta packaging.
A few minutes before the pasta is al dente, return the pan with the oil back to the stove, and cook the crushed black pepper in this for just a minute or two.
Then, about two minutes before the pasta is done, transfer the pasta into the pan in order to combine with the sauce.
Add in the guanciale as well as about 1/2 to 1 cup of pasta water.
Once almost done, add in the Pecorino Romano and mix until even.

Honestly, the guanciale produces quite a bit of fat when you cook it, so it isn't even entirely necessary to have additional olive oil to cook it. However, if you can't get your hands on guanciale and instead opt for more common alternatives like pancetta or bacon, you may want to keep the oil.

-Chefpo

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