Recipe

Pasta alla Gricia with Guanciale

Name: Pasta alla Gricia with Guanciale
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 200 g rigatoni or spaghetti; 90 g guanciale; 50 g finely grated pecorino Romano; Freshly ground black pepper; Salt for pasta water

Gricia is amatriciana without tomato and carbonara without egg — which means the guanciale has nowhere to hide.

Plated pasta gricia with guanciale and pecorino — Fat, pecorino, and pepper — nothing to mask imperfect guanciale.

Ingredients (2 servings)

200 g rigatoni or spaghetti
90 g guanciale
50 g finely grated pecorino Romano
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt for pasta water

Method

Pasta water emulsifying with guanciale fat — Pasta water and jowl fat must emulsify — toss aggressively off heat.

Cut guanciale into batons and render gently until you have a clear pool of fat and lightly crisp edges.
Cook pasta in salted water until just under al dente. Reserve water.
Add pasta to the pan with guanciale and several spoons of pasta water. Toss hard to start an emulsion.
Off the heat, add pecorino and black pepper. Toss, adding more water as needed, until the sauce clings like a thin cream.

Why this recipe teaches guanciale

With so few ingredients, you learn what good guanciale actually does: peppery pork fat that can carry cheese and starch. If your sauce breaks into oil, you need more pasta water and more vigorous tossing — not more cheese dumped in a cold clump.