Feeling drained? Refuel with pasta alla Gricia! It’s a super simple yet extremely satisfying dish that comes together in minutes.
Pasta alla Gricia calls for just three ingredients, so use the best quality products you can find (and afford):
- Guanciale – This Italian cured meat is hard to track down. I visited several grocery stores, with no luck, and ended up making a special trip to Fatted Calf to procure a half pound. If you can’t get your hands on guanciale, pancetta will do.
- Pasta – I’m partial to Pastificio Gentile calamarata. It’s not traditional, but the shape is so cute!
- Pecorino Romano cheese – While readily available, you can sub in Parmesan cheese in a pinch.
Pasta alla Gricia is comfort food personified and proof that sometimes less is more. Don’t eat meat? Cacio e pepe is equally effortless and delicious.
Recipe adapted from Old World Italian.
Pasta alla Gricia
Makes 3-4 servings
Ingredients
- 5 ounces guanciale, cubed
- 8 ounces calamarata or other tube-shaped pasta
- 1 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook guanciale on medium heat until fat renders and guanciale crisps, 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.
- Add ¾ cup reserved cooking liquid to pot with guanciale. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
- Add cooked pasta and stir to combine. If necessary, add additional cooking liquid to loosen the sauce.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add one-third of the Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper; stir to combine.
- Remove from heat and add another one-third of the Pecorino Romano cheese; stir to combine. Garnish with remaining Pecorino Romano cheese and serve immediately.
