Pasta alla Gricia

Serves 4

225 g (8 oz) guanciale, 1/2-inch-cubes.
2 g (2 tsp) freshly ground black pepper
110 g Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving, freshly grated.
350 g (12 oz) of rigatoni. Use good stuff. I love Pasta di Gragnano.
3 L water
30 g diamond crystal kosher salt

Fry the guanciale in a pan over medium heat. If the fat starts smoking, turn the heat down a little. You want the outsides crispy and the insides tender, so don’t cook it too long. Reserve the fat. It should take around 10 minutes total, including heating the pan. You can do this earlier in the day and store at room temp if you like.

Add the cheese, pepper, and reserved guanciale fat to a large bowl and set aside.

Add the water and salt to a pot and bring to a boil.

Add the pasta and cook to just under al dente. If it’s an American brand of pasta, take the al dente time and subtract two minutes. If it’s an Italian brand, use their al dente time.

When the pasta has two minutes cook time remaining, transfer 120 ml (4 oz) of the pasta water to the bowl and whisk to dissolve the cheese and emulsify the sauce. It will look thin. That’s okay. Add the guanciale.

Transfer the pasta to the bowl, and stir to combine. The sauce will thicken a little. I set the bowl over the pasta pot so it keeps everything warm. If you do this, turn the pasta pan to low, or else the cheese will coagulate.

Divide among 4 bowls and serve with extra cheese and a grind or two of pepper.

Notes

• To see what guanciale looks like and how to prepare it, watch the first minute of this video.

• Use guanciale. Not pancetta. Not bacon. Guanciale. If you’re ordering from a deli or grocery delivery service (I use Mercato to deliver Eataly) tell them not to slice or dice it for you.