Pasta alla pecorara Romana recipe from Rome.
This 3-ingredient creamy Italian pasta recipe known as pasta alla pecorara Romana is so easy to make and absolutely delicious. All you need is pasta (usually rigatoni), ricotta, pecorino and guanciale and maybe 30 minutes of your time to have this Roman classic on the table. Perfect for busy weeknights and lovers of guanciale pasta recipes.
Servings: 4
Calories: 943kcal
Equipment
- 1 large skillet to cook guanciale and mix pasta with sauce
- 1 large pot to cook pasta
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 chopping board
- 1 large bowl
Ingredients
- 11 ounces rigatoni pasta or other pasta tubes
- 9 ounces guanciale or pancetta
- 10.5 ounces fresh ricotta (sheep's milk or cow's milk)
- 2.5 ounces Pecorino Romano
- salt for pasta and to taste
- freshly ground black pepper.
Instructions
- Cut the guanciale into small strips or juliennes.
- Then fry the guanciale strips over a low to medium heat without extra fat or oil. The guanciale will render enough fat to cook in. Be careful not to let it burn.
- Once the guanciale is nice and crispy, remove it from the skillet and place on a kitchen paper lined bowl. Remove most of the fat from the skillet and set aside.
- Put a pot of water onto boil for the pasta, add salt when it starts to boil and bring to a boil again. Cook the rigatoni al dente according to the package instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, cream the ricotta in a bowl with a fork. Add a couple of tablespoons of the guanciale fat you set aside, a ladle of the pasta cooking water, half the pecorino cheese, freshly ground black pepper and some salt, if required.
- Mix everything together well until you have a creamy sauce. Add more pasta cooking water if needed.
- Save a cup of pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. Add it to the skillet where you cooked the guanciale and toss over a low heat, so the pasta gets coated in some guanciale cooking fat.
- Add the ricotta mixture, some pasta cooking water and some more pecorino to the pasta and mix together well. Then add some freshly ground black pepper. The Romans love ground black pepper! (Think cacio e pepe!)
- Finally put some of the crispy guanciale into the pot with the pasta, mix again and then serve with more guanciale added to each portion.
Notes
You don't need to add any fat or oil when cooking guanciale because it renders enough fat itself. If you use pancetta instead, you may need to cook it in a little olive oil.
You can make this recipe gluten free by using a gluten free pasta.
Leftovers are delicious baked. See main content for how to do that.
The Romans love freshly ground black pepper but you can use less if you prefer.
Nutrition
Calories: 943kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 63g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 827mg | Potassium: 267mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 405IU | Calcium: 359mg | Iron: 1mg