{"id":16069,"date":"2021-01-26T10:20:48","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T10:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/devourromefoodtours.com\/?p=2502"},"modified":"2024-08-07T23:24:58","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T23:24:58","slug":"roman-pasta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/roman-pasta\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything You Need to Know About Roman Pasta"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s something comforting about the dependable, the quotidian, the downright normal. Roman pasta is just that. Amatriciana<\/em>, carbonara<\/em>, gricia<\/em> and cacio e pepe<\/a><\/em> are the main pastas of Rome, and most restaurants have at least<\/em> two of them on the menu at any given time. They are, by and large, the things Romans love about their food.

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So much delicious pasta, so little time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>

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What are the four main Roman pasta dishes?<\/h2>

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Amatriciana<\/em>, carbonara<\/em>, gricia<\/em> and cacio e pepe<\/em> are four pasta dishes<\/a>, but they’re more than that. They’re intimately connected to the history and terroir of Rome.<\/p>

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All of them are based on Rome’s indigenous cheese, pecorino romano<\/em>. A strong sheep’s milk cheese, pecorino can be eaten young and fresh, or aged longer until it becomes firm enough to grate.<\/p>

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Cacio e pepe<\/h3>

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In Roman dialect, cacio<\/em> means cheese (i.e., pecorino), and so cacio e pepe<\/a><\/em> is simply pasta with grated pecorino and black pepper.<\/p>

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The variety of techniques is endless. Some chefs toast the pepper in butter or oil, others leave it raw. Some toss the pasta in a pan with the cheese, others mix them in a bowl. The essential ingredient, always, is some of the pasta cooking water, the heat of which helps to melt the cheese.<\/p>

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Any type of long pasta will do, but Romans prefer tonnarelli<\/em>—thick, fresh, square-ended spaghetti.<\/p>

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SEE ALSO<\/em><\/strong>: Classic Roman Cacio e Pepe Recipe<\/a><\/em><\/p>

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\"Cacio
Cacio e pepe: simplicity at its best (and most delicious).<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>

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Pasta alla gricia<\/h3>

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Gricia<\/em> takes those ingredients, and adds another classic Roman one: guanciale<\/em>. A cured pork jowl, guanciale<\/em> is cubed and rendered in a pan, so that the fat becomes a sauce and the chunks of meats crisp.<\/p>

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Funnily enough, gricia<\/em> is often lighter-tasting than cacio e pepe<\/em>, as the cheese quantity is usually lessened and the guanciale<\/em> gives flavor contrast. Gricia<\/em> has a variety in pasta shapes, from short mezze maniche<\/em> to fresh tonnarelli<\/em>.<\/p>

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\"Rigatoni\r\n
Pasta alla gricia<\/em> made with rigatoni.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>

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Carbonara<\/h3>

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With carbonara<\/a><\/em>, you up the richness even more with eggs.<\/p>

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There’s plenty up for debate, though. Whole eggs versus just yolks. All pecorino or a mix with Parmigiano. Yes or no to deglazing the guanciale<\/em> with some white wine.<\/p>

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Carbonara <\/em>generates, by far, the most strident opinions. Some like it rich and creamy with lots of egg and rendered fat. Others prefer it asciutta<\/em>, “dry,” with just enough egg to dress the pasta. And, of course, the debate extends to the pasta shapes<\/a>, with some preferring tube-like rigatoni<\/em> and others opting for classic spaghetti<\/em>.<\/p>

Insider’s tip<\/strong>:Best-Ever Traditional Roman Carbonara Recipe<\/a><\/p>

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\"Plate\r\n
Delicious spaghetti carbonara at a typical Roman trattoria.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>

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Amatriciana<\/h3>

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Amatriciana<\/em> departs from the previous three’s pecorino-focus. Instead, the base here is tomato sauce, cooked with plenty of rendered guanciale<\/em> and fat, with pecorino sprinkled on at the end.<\/p>

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The biggest controversy with amatriciana<\/em> is the inclusion of onions. The original recipe excludes them, but many Romans like some chopped red onion sautéed in the guanciale<\/em> fat.<\/p>

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The most common pasta shape here is bucatini<\/em>, a long noodle with a small hole in the center. But rigatoni<\/em> are common in restaurants, as their shape and durability make them ideal for cooking in large batches in a small kitchen.<\/p>

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The origins of Rome’s four classic pasta dishes<\/h2>

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The “Big Four” Roman pastas’ simplicity makes identifying their origins difficult. Nobody has been able to trace them back to a single restaurant or creative individual. It takes a hungry person, not a genius chef, to realize that pasta enriched with cheese, egg, and meat fills you up. However, there are some hints here and there as to how these dishes came to be.<\/p>

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Shepherds in the Roman countryside probably invented cacio e pepe<\/em>. They had abundant sheep’s milk cheese—high in protein and easily storable in a knapsack—ready to mix with pasta and a dry spice (pepper) in a single pot.<\/p>

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Gricia<\/em> is a natural elaboration, as a cured meat like guanciale<\/em> keeps well while on the move, and doesn’t require another cooking vessel. Why it’s called gricia<\/em>, though, is unclear.<\/p>

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Some claim in comes from the pastoral village of Grisciano, in the province of Rieti. Others say it was the favored repast of bakers in Rome, originating from the Grison area of Switzerland. Whatever the origins, it’s clear these were dishes meant for workers, as they are both hearty and quick to make.<\/p>

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\"Carbonara,\r\n
From left to right: carbonara, cacio e pepe, and amatriciana.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>

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The search for carbonara<\/em>‘s origins have become nearly as famous as the dish itself. This probably has to do with its recent entry into the Roman food pantheon (after World War II), and the fact that carbonara<\/em> is seen as an urban dish—it’s more popular in Rome than in the surrounding countryside.<\/p>

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The widely-held myth says that city dwellers invented it after WWII, when eating bacon and eggs gifted by American GI’s. This is highly unlikely. Miners could have invented it (carbone<\/em> means “coal”), or could merely be a version of southern Italian pasta with cheese, egg and melted lard.<\/p>

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Whatever the origins, carbonara is now by far the most famous Roman pasta, now made around the world.<\/p>

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Amatriciana<\/em>, on the other hand, has fairly clear origins. It hails from Amatrice, a town near Rieti. Like others, it seems to have been an easy-to-prepare meal for shepherds, who could carry cheese, cured pork, dried pasta and tinned tomato around.<\/p>

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The original recipe<\/a> (if such a thing can actually exist) has just these ingredients. There’s no onion, no red pepper, no bucatini<\/em> (spaghetti is used instead), and no olive oil, which in the past was quite expensive and saved for raw preparations.<\/p>

\"Pasta
Rigatoni all’amatriciana topped with plenty of pecorino.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>

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The “fifth” Roman pasta dish<\/h2>

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While not as strongly associated with Rome as the above four Roman pasta dishes, we have to give a shout out to the local Thursday favorite: gnocchi.<\/p>

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There’s a famous Roman saying: “Gnocchi on Thursday, fish on Friday, tripe on Saturday.” The tradition of eating these specific foods on these specific days came about during World War II and is still commonly practiced in Rome today.<\/p>

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Making gnocchi is a laborious process, so many restaurants in Rome will only serve them once a week—traditionally Thursday. If you happen to find yourself in Rome on a Thursday, do yourself a favor and enjoy a delicious plate of homemade gnocchi at a local trattoria.<\/p>

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\"Gnocchi\r\n
Gnocchi on Thursdays is a Roman tradition.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>

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Where to eat Roman pasta in Rome<\/h2>

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I could recommend 50 different places in Rome with a good version of one of these pastas. If I had to choose, I’d say my favorites are:<\/p>

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