← Nouns Cooking · Italian

Ingredients

• 350 g rigatoni or spaghetti
• 200 g guanciale (or pancetta), cut into thick strips
• 80 g Pecorino Romano, finely grated, plus extra to serve
• 1 tsp Black pepper, freshly and coarsely ground
• salt, for the pasta water

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and salt it lightly, since the guanciale and pecorino are salty.
2. Put the guanciale in a cold, wide frying pan and set it over medium-low heat. Cook for 8–10 min, stirring now and then, until the fat has melted out and the strips are golden and crisp at the edges. Add the pepper for the last minute.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta until 1 minute short of al dente. Scoop out a big mug of cooking water before draining.
4. Add the pasta to the guanciale pan with a ladle of the cooking water and toss over medium heat for 1–2 min, until the water and fat turn into a light, glossy sauce.
5. Take the pan off the heat, wait 30 seconds, then scatter over the pecorino and toss hard, adding splashes of water until creamy. Serve at once with extra pecorino and pepper.

Tips

• Adding the cheese off the heat stops it clumping into strings.
• Think of it as carbonara without the egg, or amatriciana without the tomato.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

GialloZafferano Pasta Grammar