Guanciale--what would you do with it?

[Joy]

I've got about a 1/2 lb and I'm looking for the best way to maximize this potential delicious experience.

[Jason Perlow]

At Babbo in NYC it is served chopped up, sauteed with mushrooms and peas and served over fresh pasta.

[mamster]

I think the best way to highlight it would be carbonara.

[Jason Perlow]

I think the best way to highlight it would be carbonara.

A carbonara in the traditional fashion, you mean, not the cream-laced one. A raw egg/romano based sauce with parsley, lots of pepper and the crispy sauteed guanciale. Spaghetti or fettucine.

[Liza]

Yes, please. Either one.

[Jim Dixon]

It's also considered an essential ingredient for arriabata. D'oh, I mean amatriciana.

Jim

edited for being too quick to type whatever started with 'a'

Edited January 22, 2003 by Jim Dixon (log)

[Vanessa]

Strangely enough I have found guanciale to be exceptional in Chinese dishes. Also, if you are able to slice it very thin, then it is good served simply on quality bread. And I would consider using it where you would normally use salt pork in American recipes.

v

[weinoo]

I think it's essential to the classic pasta all' amatriciana (Amatrice style)- a sauce made of olive oil, onions, guanciale, tomatoes, peperoncino and generally tossed with bucatini or spaghetti.

[col klink]

You can treat it like an American bacon (though it is jowl and not belly fat). I'd make candy out of it.

[Robin Meredith]

Biba Caggiano's "Trattoria Cooking" has a recipe for "Amatriciana Bianco" - basically a standard Amatriciana without the tomatoes. This might be a great way to showcase the guanciale without burying it under too many other flavors (it's conceptually similar to the bucatini with guanciale dish currently on the menu at Lupa).

Where did you find guanciale?

[Joy]

Showcasing the guanciale without burying it among other intense flavors is exactly what I'm aiming for. I got it from Salumeria Biellese -- 376 Ninth Avenue in NYC.

[mamster]

Biba Caggiano's "Trattoria Cooking" has a recipe for "Amatriciana Bianco"

I think this is often called Pasta alla Gricia.

There's a recipe in the Babbo Cookbook for pasta with sauteed parsnips and pancetta. It would be awesome with some good guanciale.

Sigh, Ninth Avenue is what I miss more about New York than anything else.

[Jinmyo]

Sara, welcome to eGullet.

I'd say a traditional carbonara.

But a half pound isn't very much. So I'd make bacon and crostini and a chunky rustic tomato sauce. Put a bit of guanciale on the crostini. Dip in the sauce. Eat. Repeat.

Buy some more, then do carbonara.