Pasta alla Gricia

So, there are a few basic Roman dishes that are all fairly simple variations on one another. There's all'amatriciana (tomato, onion, pancetta), carbonara (romano/parmesan cheese, egg, pancetta), cacio e pepe (romano cheese and black pepper), arrabbiata (tomatoes, chili, pancetta), alla papalina (romano cheese, black pepper, prosciutto, eggs...omg, why have I not made that yet?), alfredo (parmesan and butter)...and alla gricia, which is just romano, black pepper, and pancetta.

Now, while these seem like pretty simple concepts, and they are, there is a fair amount of hullaballoo over how to make them. It's mostly a traditionalist argument around what P.G. Wodehouse might refer to as "the purity of the turf". Add onion or shallots to carbonara? To amatriciana? Sacrilege! See? It's very serious.

I'm very much about food tradition and all, but there are certain realities of my kitchen, and a certain laxity in my spirit, I suppose, that leads me off the beaten path from time to time. In this case, I made pasta alla gricia with rigatoni instead of spaghetti (spaghetti would have been better, admittedly), and I used...sigh...a Kraft parmesan-romano grated cheese blend (it's real cheese, though - no fillers!) instead of a pecorino romano, which also probably would've been better. Some argue for guianciale over pancetta; I used pancetta. Other than that, I stuck to the purist guns. As far as I know, at least.

This cooks up fast, too!

3/4 lb pasta

2 tbsp olive oil

2 thickish slices pancetta, diced

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

1 cup reserved pasta water

Plenty of ground black pepper

Get your water boiling. In a pan, combine your olive oil and pancetta over medium, and cook until slightly browned. Set aside/remove from heat. 

Meanwhile, cook your pasta, setting aside the cup of pasta water. Drain pasta and add directly to the pan with the pancetta, tossing to coat. Add the cheese and toss to coat again. If it's dry, add pasta water. Add plenty of black pepper, tossed in, and serve with more grated cheese.