- 350 gr of Spaghetti (or Rigatoni )
- 270 gr of guanciale (1 cm thick slice to be cut into strips)
- 90 g of pecorino romano
- black pepper to grind
- salt
Preparation
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First, bring plenty of lightly salted water to the boil in a saucepan.
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Cut the bacon into strips of about 1 cm and cook it in a very hot non-stick pan, caramelize it without oil or other fats! You will see that slowly all the fat will come out of the guanciale and it will be crunchy. When cooked, drain it into a small bowl, leaving the fat in the pan.
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Grate the pecorino romano and add 1 tablespoon of the pasta cooking water that is not boiling, but which you have allowed to cool. This step is essential so that the pecorino paste does not tear . Mix well until you get a very dry mixture.
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Cook the pasta for half, drain it directly into the pan with the bacon fat and start to risotto with a little cooking water.
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Add enough cooking water to cook the Spaghetti al dente, about 3 minutes from the end, add almost all of the guanciale (leave 2 – 3 tablespoons for garnish).
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Finally, remove the pan with the pasta from the heat, let the temperature drop for 30 seconds and add the pecorino paste, stir well, adding a couple of tablespoons of cooking water if necessary for greater creaminess.
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Finally served with crunchy bacon scattered and possibly more grated pecorino!