Pasta alla Gricia

Name: Pasta alla Gricia
Prep time: 8 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: italian
Ingredients: 1 lb rigatoni or spaghetti; 6 oz guanciale, cut into strips; 1.5 cups grated Pecorino Romano; Freshly cracked black pepper; Reserved pasta water

Carbonara without the eggs — guanciale, Pecorino, black pepper. Rome's oldest pasta.

★★ Intermediate$$25 minServes 4

Pasta alla Gricia — Pasta — italian — recipe plated and ready to serve

intermediate italian kid-friendly pasta weeknight

Ingredients

1 lb rigatoni or spaghetti
6 oz guanciale, cut into strips
1.5 cups grated Pecorino Romano
Freshly cracked black pepper
Reserved pasta water

Method

Render: Render guanciale from a cold pan over medium heat until crispy (8 min). Reserve fat.
Cook: Cook pasta. Reserve 1.5 cups pasta water.
Add: Add pasta to the guanciale pan with 1/2 cup pasta water. Toss over low heat.
Step: Off heat, add Pecorino in handfuls, tossing vigorously, adding pasta water until creamy. Season with pepper.

What You're Practicing

Gricia is the ancestor of both carbonara (add eggs) and amatriciana (add tomato).
Same emulsion technique as cacio e pepe — rendered fat + cheese + starchy water.
These four pastas (gricia, carbonara, amatriciana, cacio e pepe) are Rome's 'four canonical pastas.'