Gricia Recipe : Spaghetti alla Gricia

One of the 4 quintessential 'primi' from the Lazio region in Italy, this pasta is beautiful in its simplicity with soft guanciale and tangy Pecorino cheese. No onion, no garlic, no oil - this flavorful dish gets its character from slowly sauteeing the guanciale and then creating a creamy sauce with the pasta water and a bit of Pecorino Romano before tossing with thick spaghetti. With only 4 ingredients, this is also a quick meal when you're in a rush.

Ingredients

• 1 pound thick spaghetti
• 8 ounces guanciale (smoked pork jowl), thinly sliced
• black pepper to taste
• 3 ounces finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided

Cooking Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally.
2. While pasta cooks, immediately heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add guanciale and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add 1 ladle of pasta cooking water, stir, and cover pan. As pasta cooks, add another ladle of cooking water to the pan with the guanciale to create a sauce.
3. At about 10 minutes of pasta cooking time, reserve a cup of cooking water and drain pasta. Add spaghetti to the pan with the guanciale; toss, adding reserved cooking water if necessary. Turn off heat. Add 1/3 the Pecorino Romano cheese to the pasta and toss until creamy.
4. Divide pasta between 4 plates. Top each with remaining Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts

• calories875.4
• carbohydrateContent85.7 g
• cholesterolContent73.1 mg
• fatContent46.9 g
• fiberContent3.7 g
• proteinContent25.2 g
• saturatedFatContent18.3 g
• sodiumContent276.2 mg
• sugarContent3.2 g