Pasta alla Gricia

20240217, #breakfastdiary 977, -1°C/mostly clear Cacio e pepe is made with just pecorino cheese and pepper — add guanciale, and you get today's breakfast: #PastaAllaGricia I'm using a little starch water to help the emulsification (mantecare) along — no need to overthink it, even famous Italian chefs use this trick. In a pot, combine 150ml water and 10g starch, and cook slowly over medium heat until it thickens into a starch slurry. Blend the starch slurry with 40g pecorino cheese and 10g olive oil to make the sauce. Set it aside for a moment. Not sure why we even had this in the house, but slice the guanciale into bite-size pieces and pan-fry it. It's from a different cut than bacon, but bacon works as a substitute. Set aside both the crisped guanciale and the fat it renders — don't toss it. Gricia is often made with rigatoni, but I'm using spaghetti today. Boil the spaghetti in salted water and reserve some pasta water. In the pan, combine the guanciale fat, plenty of pepper, and the pasta, emulsify (mantecare), then add the reserved guanciale. Add 2T of the sauce, emulsify again, plate it, and top with three pieces of guanciale. Done. Go on, try it~ Oh wait, I forgot the cheese. Hang on, There, try it again~ Since I had minari pasta for breakfast yesterday, this breaks my own rule of not eating the same or a similar dish two days in a row with pasta showing up again — but somehow it happened anyway. Some days are just like that,