Spaghetti all'Amatriciana

I still had some of that lovely guanciale (pork jowl) left over from my trip to the farmers market and decided to use it in one of the most traditional and well-known Roman dishes: pasta all'Amatriciana.

Before I started writing , I did some research and found out several things I was not aware of:

1. Amatriciana is not traditionally a Roman recipe. It originates from Amatrice, a mountain town in the province of Rieti, and was brought to Rome by its shepherds who used to move their sheep, goats and cows to the pastures around Rome in the winter and sold their products in the markets of the city.

2. Originally the sauce was called Gricia, or griscia, apparently from Grisciano, the name of a village near Amatrice. It is an ancient recipe, prepared long before tomatoes were brought to the Old World from America, and it is still made today.

3. The original recipe for Amatriciana does not include onions. Who knew? I have always made it with onions. If you want to be true to its origins, however, do not use any.

Spaghetti con guanciale e fiori di zucca (pork jowl & zucchini blossoms)

Guanciale is pork jowl: the cheek (guancia in Italian) of the pig, rubbed in salt and pepper and cured for a few weeks. It is not smoked, it has a stronger flavor than pancetta but it is more delicate in texture.

Guanciale is traditionally used in Roman dishes (or recipes from Latium region in general) such as amatriciana and carbonara. Purists and Romans insist on using it in their recipes, claiming it is essential for the perfect turn-out of the dish. However, since guanciale is not to be found everwhere that easily, even here in Italy, you can use pancetta (cured bacon, the not-smoked kind, called pancetta dolce) instead.