Spaghetti alla Gricia

Spaghetti alla Gricia

Ingredients
For two people
7 oz (150-200g) pasta
4-4.5 ounces of guanciale (hog jowl) cut into strips (pancetta, or thickly sliced smoked bacon if you can’t get guanciale)
3.5 ounces of freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (or more or less depending on your tastes)
lots of fresh black pepper.
Optional:  2 tables spoons (30ml) white wine, red pepper flakes.
You will need a separate bowl to mix the final ingredients in.



If you know how to make spaghetti alla carbonara, you already know how to make this dish, with the liquid in the pan and the cheese working together. It’s so simple, but I will be explicit, just in case!

Grate the pecorino and set it aside. While the pasta boils, brown the guanciale until its cooked to your liking.
If you are using white wine: Add the wine to the rendered fat in the frying pan and heat the mixture thickens a bit, and sprinkle in a few spoonfuls of cheese. Once it has thickened, add the pasta to the pan and toss it to coat it well.  If you don’t have a large enough frying pan to toss the pasta in, the step of coating the pasta can also be done in the separate bowl, adding the remaining grated cheese, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if you are using them.

If you’re not using white wine, drain the pasta when it is still al dente, setting aside half a cup of the cooking water.  Add the pasta to the separate bowl, along with the guanciale and rendered fat, grated cheese, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if you are using them. Gradually add a bit of the pasta water until the pasta is well coated creamy, Jonathan uses a couple of tablespoons of water in his.  If the pasta still is too dry for your taste, add a bit more water.

Serve immediately, with extra cheese and black pepper on the side.


post from design sponge