🍝 Mezze maniche alla gricia
Gricia is one of Rome's four classic pastas: short mezze maniche tubes tossed with crisp, rendered guanciale (cured pork cheek), grated pecorino romano and lots of black pepper. With no tomato and no egg, the sauce is just pork fat and cheese emulsified with starchy pasta water into a glossy, salty, peppery coating.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g mezze maniche
- 150 g guanciale, cut into strips
- 80 g pecorino romano, finely grated
- 1–2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Salt
Method
- Cook the pasta in lightly salted water until just al dente.
- Meanwhile, fry the guanciale in a dry pan over medium heat until crisp and its fat has melted; add the pepper.
- Transfer the pasta to the pan with a ladle of cooking water and toss.
- Off the heat, add the pecorino and toss quickly, adding splashes of pasta water until creamy, then serve.
How to make it lighter
- Use 100 g guanciale for four and pour off some of the rendered fat.
- Weigh the pasta: about 80 g dry per person is a standard portion.
- Pecorino is strongly flavoured — a smaller amount still tastes rich.
History
Mezze maniche ('half sleeves') are short, wide ridged tubes, a shorter cut of rigatoni popular in Rome. Gricia is often described as the ancestor of amatriciana — the same dish before tomato was added. Its name is usually linked to Grisciano, a village near Amatrice, or to the 'gricio' grocers of old Rome, though neither story is certain.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →