Pasta alla gricia: The Mother of Roman Pastas Recipe

What was Italian cuisine like before the tomato arrived from America? Pasta alla gricia gives us some idea. Widely considered the ancestor of the more famous bucatini all’amatriciana, it is a simple dish that, according to at least one  legend, originated among shepherds in the mountains around the town of Amatrice, being made from pasta, cheese, cured pork, all things that the shepherds could carry around with them for days as they grazed their The thing that makes pasta alla gricia special is guanciale, or cured pork jowl. Rubbed with salt, pepper and spices before it is hung for at least three weeks, guanciale has a more assertive taste than its better known cousin pancetta. It is quite fatty, too, and its rendered fat lends…