Pasta alla gricia facts for kids
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| Type | Pasta |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Region or state | Lazio |
| Main ingredients | Guanciale, Pecorino Romano, black pepper |
Pasta alla gricia is a yummy pasta dish from the Lazio region in Italy. It's made with simple but tasty ingredients. You'll find pasta, a special cheese called Pecorino Romano, black pepper, and a type of cured pork called Guanciale.
Contents
Where Does the Name "Gricia" Come From?
The name "gricia" likely comes from an old Roman word, gricio. In the past, during the time of the Papal States in Rome, grici were people who sold everyday food items. Many of these sellers came from a place called Valtellina. This area was once part of the Swiss canton of Grigioni.
So, Pasta alla gricia might mean "pasta prepared in the style of the gricio." This suggests it was made with simple ingredients. These ingredients, like guanciale, Pecorino Romano cheese, and black pepper, were easy to find at a local gricio seller.
Another Idea About the Name
There's another idea that the dish was invented in a tiny village called Grisciano. This village is also in the Lazio region, close to Amatrice. However, this idea is probably not true. Grisciano is very small, just a few houses. Also, if the dish came from Grisciano, its name would likely be alla grisciana, not alla gricia.
Gricia and Amatriciana
It's interesting to know that in Amatrice, a famous dish called amatriciana sauce was made without tomatoes until the 1960s. This older version of amatriciana was very similar to gricia. Because of this, gricia is sometimes called amatriciana in bianco. The word bianco means "white" in Italian, referring to the dish without red tomato sauce.
See also
In Spanish: Pasta a la gricia para niños
