Guanciale, artichoke and pecorino linguine

Name: Guanciale, artichoke and pecorino linguine
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italian recipes
Ingredients: 300g dried linguine or spaghetti; 100g guanciale, sliced into thin lardons (see Know-how); 1 garlic clove, peeled but left whole; 180g artichokes (from a jar in oil), sliced, plus 2 tbsp of the oil; 50g pecorino, finely grated

Portion size: Serves 4
Prep time 5 min. Cook time 15 min
Difficulty: easy

Emily Gussin

Food producer and sustainability lead, delicious.

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Similar to carbonara and using some distinctly Roman ingredients, this five ingredient, silkily sauced guanciale, artichoke and pecorino linguine is easy to make, thanks to a simple trick of boiling the pasta in minimal water.

Loved this dish? Try mini sausage meatballs with spaghetti arrabbiata for your next weeknight pasta fix.

Before you start

Less water means a higher starch ratio, and more starch makes emulsification with liquid fats easier. In this recipe, there’s the rendered fat from the guanciale, oil from the marinated artichokes and the fat from the pecorino, so the extra-starchy water helps create a foolproof silky sauce.

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Ingredients

300g dried linguine or spaghetti
100g guanciale, sliced into thin lardons (see Know-how)
1 garlic clove, peeled but left whole
180g artichokes (from a jar in oil), sliced, plus 2 tbsp of the oil
50g pecorino, finely grated

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Method

Put 900ml water and just a pinch of salt in a large sauté pan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, put the guanciale and garlic in a separate frying/sauté pan over a low-medium heat to slowly render out the fat, stirring regularly.
Once the water is boiling, add the pasta (it should only just be covered) and cook for 1 minute less than the pack instructions until al dente. Once the guanciale has started to crisp, add the artichokes to the pan and cook over a low-medium heat until the pasta is ready.
Remove the garlic clove, then add 3 tbsp of the pasta cooking water to the guanciale pan and stir to combine. Use tongs to lift the cooked pasta straight into the guanciale pan, taking some of the starchy pasta water with it. Stir vigorously to combine everything in a silky sauce. Add the pecorino and 2 tbsp
of the artichoke oil, then stir again until melted and combined, adding another spoonful of the pasta water if needed for the sauce. Serve straightaway with plenty of black pepper.
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Nutrition

546kcals Calories
27g (7.5g saturated) Fat
19g Protein
56g (3g sugars) Carbs
4.7g Fibre
1.7g Salt

Quick wins & tips

Easy swaps You could use pancetta if you can’t get hold of guanciale, and substitute sun-dried tomatoes for the artichokes if you prefer.

Cook smarter

Guanciale is peppery Italian cured pig’s jowl or cheek, traditionally used for carbonara. Buy in Waitrose and Ocado, some butchers and delis and online (see Easy Swaps).

Most of the water you cook the pasta in will end up in the sauce, so don’t season it as heavily with salt before you boil the pasta.

Using a sauté or deep frying pan to cook the pasta works well as the pasta can lie flat and be submerged in the water. If you don’t have one that will fit, use a large saucepan. Add the pasta and leave for 30 seconds to soften a little at one end, then gently bend the pasta using tongs so the other end issubmerged in the water too.