This pasta is stunning in its simplicity with smooth guanciale and tangy Pecorino cheese, one of the four traditional “primi” from the Lazio region of Italy. Without using onion, garlic, or oil, this delectable dish is made by slowly sautéing the guanciale and then making a creamy sauce with a little Pecorino Romano and pasta water before tossing it with thick spaghetti. This is also a simple supper when you’re in a hurry because it only requires 4 ingredients.
| Prep Time: | 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 25 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound thick spaghetti
- 8 ounces guanciale (smoked pork jowl), thinly sliced
- black pepper to taste
- 3 ounces finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally.
- While pasta cooks, immediately heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add guanciale and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add 1 ladle of pasta cooking water, stir, and cover pan. As pasta cooks, add another ladle of cooking water to the pan with the guanciale to create a sauce.
- At about 10 minutes of pasta cooking time, reserve a cup of cooking water and drain pasta. Add spaghetti to the pan with the guanciale; toss, adding reserved cooking water if necessary. Turn off heat. Add 1/3 the Pecorino Romano cheese to the pasta and toss until creamy.
- Divide pasta between 4 plates. Top each with remaining Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper. Serve immediately.
- If you cannot find guanciale, you can use pancetta instead.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 875 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 86 g |
| Cholesterol | 73 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 25 g |
| Saturated Fat | 18 g |
| Sodium | 276 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 47 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I love this recipe and this simple one is so easy and rich. In Italy and at home I order this or make it when I am doing multi courses for an Italian dinner, first I love doing a colorful Antipasta platter which everyone can enjoy with a light crisp white wine, this can be enjoyed for an hour before dinner is actually served. Then, I call for dinner to be served. I serve this pasta as a Primi with can be about a half serving artfully presented, because it is rich you really don’t want a full serving especially if you are serving a meat and vegetable course after. Usually after all this food I like to serve for dessert a simple scoop of a favorite flavor of Gelato with walnuts and some good Chestnut honey drizzled on top.
I made this with Pancetta and it it was great even my husband enjoyed and had a second helping! Jess
I mixed 50/50 Pecorino-Romana and Parmigiano-reggiano instead of 100% Pecorino
I liked this recipe however is a tid bit greasy. Still, simple and good. Guanciale is less salty than pancetta, so if you like this recipe saltier definitely go with the latter. Now, melt the cheese little by little to get the creamy results and do not rush to add the water while mixing. Be watchful of the consistency you are trying to get.
It was pretty good. A little salty for my tastes, but I had to use Pancetta…and Pancetta is always very salty to me. My friend I shared it with absolutely loved it.
I made this with pancetta. My family loved it. I will make it again. This is a very easy dish.
This looks delicious! I am a lover of Italian food. Maybe garlic and olive oil aren’t authentic, but they are delicious in meals. Sometimes putting your own twist on Italian food is the way to go. Thick spaghetti and Pecarino Romano, five stars!
What can be used in place of the guanciale? Not easy to find Italian meats in my area. It looks delicious, hence the four stars.