La Gricia is the forerunner of Amatriciana recipe. It is a dish that was consumed mainly by shepherds who went to pastures with lard, dried pasta, bacon, pepper, and Pecorino Romano.
The name Gricia probably comes from the locality of Gresciano, near Amatrice, or it could derive from gricio, the retailer of breads and other foodstuffs.
The pastas that can be used are spaghetti, which represent the original version, but also short pasta as in this recipe.

Gricia Pasta

  • Preparation time: 20 minutes
  • Ingredients for 4 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy recipe

  • Ingredients
  • 350 gr or 12 oz of pasta
  • 110 gr or 4 oz of seasoned guanciale (pork cheek)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Grated Pecorino Romano cheese to taste
  1. Instructions
  2. Add the water into a pot and bring to a boil.
  3. In a large frying pan, add the guanciale (pork cheek) cut rather thick and cook on a low heat so that it “sweats” the fat and becomes lightly browned.
  4. In the pasta pan, salt the boiling water with a bit of coarse salt and toss the pasta.
  5. Cook until “al dente” and drain. Then add the pasta to the pan with the sauce. Let simmer for 2 minutes, pouring in a little of the cooking water if necessary.
  6. Add the crispy guanciale.
  7. Serve with plenty of grated Pecorino Romano.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  • To cook the guanciale correctly, it is important to start cooking with a cold pan. If you want crispy, you must first melt the fat and then remove the fat from the pan and continue cooking until crispy. Then remove the guanciale from the pan and place on paper towels to ensure it remains crispy and put the fat back in the pan to start cooking the sauce.
  • Salt the boiling water remembering that the Pecorino Romano cheese and the guanciale are really salty.
  • To best cook pasta, 1 US quart of water must be considered for every serving.