This is the most underrated of the four traditional Roman pastas. Rigatoni alla Gricia was created from the cheapness and abundance of the two ingredients that give this dish its flavor, which are guanciale and Pecorino. Together these two ingredients marry cracked black pepper and rigatoni pasta to create this delicious four-ingredient recipe that requires no long-simmering sauce or time-consuming prep. You cook the cured pork fat to render the fat, use the fat to toss the pasta in, and toss the pasta with funky grated cheese and crispy pork to finish. Bada bing bada boom, pasta in less than 20 minutes. Can you dig?

This pasta is a hybrid of Cacio e Pepe, so use your pork fat a little at a time to find the right balance of porky flavor and cheesiness. You’re going to start by cooking your pasta and your guanciale separately and those two will come together eventually, but I would cook your guanciale in a separate pan from the one you’ll finish your sauce in so you can decide how much fat to add in at the end.

If you haven’t worked with guanciale before, it’s just cured pork made from the cheek. It’s similar to bacon or pancetta, and maybe a little harder to find, but so worth it.

The key to Rigatonia alla Gricia is emulsification, so take a little time to do it right. You’ll start by cooking your pasta and guanciale, and then adding your pasta and pasta water to a pan over low heat. This will continue to cook your pasta, but act as a vessel to incorporate your cheese to create creaminess. And a little cheese here goes a long way. As your water is evaporating, add some of the guanciale fat and keep tossing — everything will magically come together.

Our perfect result is just a little creaminess; remember this pasta is salty and delicious even with just a little bit of creamy. This is a great recipe to practice this method because I want you to do this with every pasta you make! Emulsification just takes a little water and some tossing.

That’s why you have all these chefs and people talking about food about “al dente” pasta. You par cook the noodles to finish cooking the pasta in your sauce. The pasta water gives your cheese a place to melt, so as the water cooks your pasta and the noodles suck up more cheesy liquid. The flavor gets absorbed in and around each noodle. It’s a win/win!

Once you learn this method of making pasta in your sauce, you won’t be going back to serving your pasta sauce on the side. Be proud of that liquid gold sauce. And if you’d like to use up extra ingredients in your fridge, this is a perfect pasta canvas to have a little fun with. We made this pasta with three other recipes while testing and this recipe was by far our favorite the next day.