ArcaMax

Rome has four iconic -- and outrageously good -- pasta dishes that use some combination of pork, cheese, pepper, eggs and tomatoes: cacio e pepe, amatriciana, carbonara and gricia. This last one is probably the least well-known in the United States, but its porky-peppery flavors deserve big recognition.

In Italy, porky guanciale is at the forefront of the dish, followed by the heat of black pepper and the tang of pecorino Romano. It all forms a rich yet delicately creamy sauce to coat rigatoni.

To bring this dish into American home kitchens, we had to finesse the ingredient list and the cooking technique. To start, we swapped out the guanciale for easier-to-find pancetta. (But if you can find guanciale, use it! We've included instructions for subbing it for the pancetta.)

As for the technique, we quickly learned that it was more art than science: As the al dente pasta cooks through, it absorbs some of the pasta water and releases starch to help emulsify the water and fat into a creamy sauce. How much pasta water to add depends on knowing how much more cooking the pasta needs and how much water it will absorb. And if there isn't enough pasta water to maintain the emulsion, the sauce will be broken and greasy. We wanted to remove any guesswork so home cooks of all experience levels could make this dish perfectly every time.

The solution was boiling measured amounts of rendered pork fat and pasta water to a specific volume: 1 1/2 cups. This way, we always used the same amount of liquid to coat the pasta, which gave us consistent results and an emulsified sauce. Boiling the liquid also helped break up the fat droplets to create a thick, cohesive sauce before we mixed in the pasta.

From start to finish, the recipe only takes about 30 minutes. And it only takes one bite to understand why it's one of Rome's iconic pastas.

Pasta alla Gricia (Rigatoni with Pancetta and Pecorino Romano)

Serves 6

8 ounces pancetta, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound rigatoni

1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper, plus extra for serving

2 ounces pecorino Romano cheese, grated fine (1 cup), plus extra for serving

1. Slice each round of pancetta into rectangular pieces that measure about 1/2 inch by 1 inch.

2. Heat pancetta and oil in large Dutch oven over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until fat is rendered and pancetta is deep golden brown but still has slight pinkish hue, 8 to 10 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary to keep pancetta from browning too quickly.

3. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to bowl; set aside. Pour fat from pot into liquid measuring cup (you should have around 1/3 cup fat; discard any extra over 1/3 cup). Return fat to Dutch oven.

4. While pancetta cooks, set the colander in large bowl. Bring 2 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Drain pasta in prepared colander, reserving cooking water.

5. Add pepper and 2 cups reserved cooking water to the Dutch oven with fat and bring to boil over high heat. Boil mixture rapidly, scraping up any browned bits, until emulsified and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 5 minutes. (If you've reduced it too far, add more reserved cooking water to equal 1 1/2 cups.)

6. Reduce heat to low, add pasta and pancetta, and stir to evenly coat. Add pecorino Romano and stir until cheese is melted and sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Off heat, adjust sauce consistency with remaining reserved cooking water as needed. Transfer pasta to platter and serve immediately, passing extra pepper and extra cheese separately.

Recipe notes: Because this pasta is quite rich, serve it in slightly smaller portions with a green vegetable or salad.

For the best results, use the highest-quality pancetta you can find. If you can find guanciale, we recommend using it and increasing the browning time in Step 2 to 10 to 12 minutes. Because we call for cutting the pancetta to a specified thickness, we recommend having it cut to order at the deli counter; avoid pre-sliced or pre-diced products.

(For 25 years, confident cooks in the know have relied on America's Test Kitchen for rigorously tested recipes developed by professional test cooks and vetted by 60,000 at-home recipe testers. See more online at www.americastestkitchen.com/TCA.)