pasta alla gricia

Rome wasn’t an empire by accident. It makes sense that they’d be fans of structural rigor. You can see this in their pasta dishes: they are simple, but strict. They also are all built off the same blueprint.

At the base is Cacio e Pepe: pasta, pecorino cheese, and pasta water.

Add guanciale or pancetta to that, and you get Pasta alla Gricia.

alla Gricia is most likely the template the two other iconic Roman pastas were then built on: Amatriciana, which adds tomato, and Carbonara, which adds eggs.

The pasta taxonomy is more complicated than making this dish.

If you’re nervous about working with egg yolks (or, like me, you discovered alla Gricia because you screwed up your carbonara when cooking for other people, and didn’t want to risk it again), or you want a lighter version that’s a little less heady and a little more like an authentic Italian bacon mac and cheese, alla Gricia is for you.

RECIPE

Best described as a cacio e pepe with pork or a carbonara without the egg, pasta alla gricia is an authentic ancient Roman dish that uses just 4 ingredients: guanciale (we’re using pancetta here), pasta, pepper, and pecorino romano cheese, which emulsifies with reserved pasta water to create the creamy, luxurious sauce.

Effortful time: 15 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

Serves 2

YOU NEED

  • 8 oz. spaghetti

  • 2 oz. pancetta, diced

  • 15-20 grinds fresh black pepper

  • 1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese, plus more to taste

MAKE IT

  1. Get prepped. Heat salted water in a shallow pan for pasta.

  2. Brown the pancetta. While the pasta water heats, heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta and brown, stirring periodically, until most of the fat is rendered and the meat is crispy but not burnt, about 10 minutes.

  3. Cook the pasta. Aim for a minute shy of al dente.

  4. Combine the pasta with the pancetta. Reduce heat in the pancetta pan to low. Transfer cooked pasta to your pancetta skillet, leaving the pasta water on the stove (turned off). Toss with the pork to evenly distribute and slick up the strands (gross?) with pork fat. Add the pepper.

  5. Create the sauce. Add pasta water in small cupfuls, followed by a bit of the cheese. Toss with tongs to combine, then add more, adjusting with more pasta water to make sure things don’t tighten up too much. Continue until all the cheese is used and coats the pasta in a glossy, thick sauce.

  6. Serve it up. Likely with pecorino on top.

pastaA @ italian enoughtraditional, roman-romagnaComment