Spaghetti alla Gricia, also known as white amatriciana (amatriciana Bianca), is a great idea for dinner. It is basically pasta all’amatriciana without a tomato product. This recipe may not be as popular as spaghetti carbonara, but once you try it, it’ll become one of your favorite pasta dishes.
It’s fast and easy and all you need to know is a little bit of technique. The point of these classic Roman pastas is to bring an authentic and traditional version.
You only need a handful of ingredients, such as Pecorino Romano cheese and guanciale. Guanciale is an Italian pork cheek meat product. It is a less common product than pancetta, so if you can’t find it, just use pancetta. You can also swap Pecorino for Parmesan.
Spaghetti alla Gricia = Cacio e Pepe with bacon
The technique is similar to classic pasta Cacio e Pepe. However, there is no need to salt water so much, as guanciale and Pecorino cheese themselves are quite salty. All you have to do is fry the bacon in a pan, add the al dente pasta together with some pasta water, freshly grated cheese and black pepper. Stir constantly until you create a nice creamy sauce.
I actually like this recipe more than spaghetti carbonara. What about you? Let me know in the comments below.
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Spaghetti alla Gricia
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
Ingredients
- 200g Guanciale
- 300g Spaghetti
- 150g Pecorino Romano
- 1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Pasta water
Instructions
- Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add your pasta and stir occasionally.
- Cook guanciale in a large skillet over medium heat for about 7 minutes. The fat should partially render out and everything will get nicely brown and crispy. Transfer the bacon to a bowl while keeping the fat in the pan.
- Season the rendered fat with freshly ground black pepper. Add some pasta water and bring it up to a gentle boil. Before your pasta is al dente, start transforming it into the pan. When it looks a little bit dry, add more pasta water as needed to keep the sauce creamy. Stir well.
- Once the pasta is al dente, turn the heat off. Add Pecorino cheese gradually and start to toss and stir immediately to help the sauce emulsify.
- Put the cooked guanciale back into the pan and stir again. Serve topped with extra Pecorino and freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
Always salt the water before cooking pasta.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 878
- Sugar: 1.7g
- Fat: 61.9g
- Saturated Fat: 15.5
- Carbohydrates: 44.8g
- Fiber: 7.4g
- Protein: 38.9
