Pasta alla gricia, original recipe from Rome

Together with the well known pasta alla carbonara, the pasta cacio and pepe and pasta all’amatriciana, pasta alla gricia is one of the most traditional dish you can find in Rome. It’s so traditional that’s sometimes it’s not easy to eat a good one at the restaurants and that’s why most Romans prefer to make the gricia at home. The recipe of the pasta alla gricia is really really easy to make and the result is a warming dish full of flavors, ideal for a cozy dinner or a friendly one.

It is said that the pasta alla gricia is the forerunner of the amatriciana and it’s even more simple to make given the absence of tomato sauce. Exactly as for the amatriciana no garlic or onion are requested to make the pasta alla gricia and you need to use good pork jowl (guanciale) to obtain the best result possible. Some pecorino cheese is the final touch and it will give your pasta a compelling appeal.

According to the myth, gricia was originally invented by shepherds coming down from the mountains and therefore they used cheaper but easy to find products. It is said that the very first was prepared with “ricotta salata cheese” and not with pecorino which was sold because most profitable. It also seems that originally the oil wasn’t used and the pork jowl was cooked by itself with its own fat.

[Pics by Giuseppe]