Alla Grica Sauce

A type of white pasta sauce that originated in Amatrice, Italy a small town located adjacent to the Gran Sasso massif, a mountain region in the middle of the country. Made with the distinct flavor of cured pork, the traditional Alla Grica Sauce will use cured pork sautéed in olive oil and seasoned with onions, possibly garlic, and a very small amount of ground chile pepper with a pinch of black pepper as well. When prepared as a local Amatrice sauce, the recipe will contain guanciale, which is the cheek meat of the pig. Since guanciale is not always available outside of Italy, this sauce may be prepared in other countries with pancetta, an Italian bacon or other pork substitutes such as Canadian bacon.

A second sauce from Amatrice that is considered to be the "sister" sacue to Alla Grica is Amarticiana Sauce, which is considered as the "red" version of Alla Grica. Prepared in the same manner, each sauce goes through the same preparation process, however, the Amarticiana Sauce includes tomatoes as an ingredient and thus, the deep red color of the sauce. As the years change some of the ingredients in the sauces, there may be variations that include other ingredients, such as cheese or garlic. Romano cheese is often used as an additional ingredient in some of the Alla Grica and Amarticiana sauces. Strand pasta such as spaghetti is the most common pasta topped with these sauces but in Amatrice or other areas of Italy, the pasta typically served is bucatini, perciatelli or fresh ravioli.