Almost everyone knows it in relation to the amatriciana, as its "white" version, or like the cacio e pepe with the addition of the guanciale. But in reality, the griscia, referred to as gricia, is the original version and the oldest one, which was created and takes its name from Grisciano.
Grisciano is a small village of Accumuli in the province of Rieti, on the border with the Marche region, where there is only one restaurant that prepares it: La Vecchia Ruota. It’s the only place, but also the best place to try an original and truly unforgettable gricia, even though some variations created over time exist such as those proposed by young chef Remo Fiscina.
History and origin of the griscia
The griscia was born at a frontier between what was the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the State Church. Grisciano in fact, was the post station along the old Roman Salaria, an ancient crossroad where the routes pass through to Abruzzo, Marche, and Ducati Longobardi. Its origin undoubtedly dates back to a time before the discovery of America given the absence of tomatoes. "It was probably during the period of Napoleon's conquest, from 1798 to 1814, that the use of tomatoes as a pasta sauce spread throughout the Italian peninsula", writes the French gastronome Grimond de la Reynière in 1807 in the “Almanach des Gourmands”. Its only ingredients in fact are those available in the area, offered by the shepherds during transhumance, namely guanciale and pecorino cheese. And still today at the Vecchia Ruota they prepare it exactly as before, with the products available in the area.
The only place to eat griscia in Grisciano
La Vecchia Ruota was opened in 1991, in one of those transitory places, which can sometimes be a good thing and other times not. After various collaborations with different partners, it became a totally family-run restaurant with Gian Piero Cafini in the kitchen, his sister Chiara in the dining room, and their parents supervising. Over the years the family has expanded, with Manuela, Gian Piero's wife, who helps with various duties. As well as the gricia, they also prepare plenty of other dishes to perfection such as amatriciana, potato gnocchi, fagottelli with truffle, lamb and so on.
The reigning queen of the restaurant however remains the gricia that they offer with strictly local, slightly spicy guanciale and pecorino (not the Roman one) by Giuseppe Riti di Acquasanta. The secret is all in knowing how to create a creamy consistency with the cooking water from the pasta, in an aluminum pan because it handles the heat better, and obviously the perfect amount of pepper.
Griscia at La Vecchia Ruota
Gricia or griscia?
"It's subtle, we're not bothered by it, why should you be?" Chiara explains to us that in Grisciano they are in fact the first to call it gricia and not griscia. Even the party in its honor, which the Friends of Grisciano Association organizes every 18th August, is called Sagra della Gricia. The exact term however, is griscia, as it takes its name from the town. Over time it has started to be called gricia in dialect, without the s, even by the residents of Grisciano themselves. "It is like amatriciana or matriciana, there is no difference, it’s just the dialect", Chiara continues. "We personally are not bothered by it, along with the strictness there is about the use of long or short pasta".
Long pasta or short pasta?
From the shrine of griscia comes another great truth, this time about the pasta format to use: "Eat it however you like!". Chiara doesn’t understand why there is so much persistence around the supposed rules regarding the use of long or short pasta because there is in fact no original version, ancient or indeed "more real" than others. In the past, she explains, we used fresh pasta that was prepared when required and it was always different. Sometimes it was short, sometimes long, and sometimes it was with eggs when there were available!
So, even at La Vecchia Ruota today you can choose the format you prefer yourself: they suggest spaghetti as the long pasta, and mezze maniche as short pasta (which is how it’s presented at the Sagra). This doesn't take anything away from those who prefer to use other formats, such as one of the greatest (and youngest) chefs in the province of Rome today, Remo Fiscina, from Cilento, who presents the dish in several very interesting variations.
Chef Remo Fiscina's variations
Remo is a very young chef of countless talents. Someone dynamic who is always up to something, who never stands still, and who always has new ideas and projects in progress. He always comes good! Originally from Caselle in Pittari in Cilento, he found his passion for cooking from his mother Concetta, who woke him up every Sunday morning to prepare fresh pasta and who has passed the value of what is homemade and the big difference with what is industrial on to him. Remo treasured these teachings: at the age of 13 he started working in the kitchens and then moved to Rome (his mother's hometown) where he worked in various restaurants, delivering his skills and above all his flair.
So, with him, even traditional dishes find new life and nourishment, such as the gricia that, in addition to the sacred classic version, he also offers a variant of Cilento (bringing some of his own origins to which he is still very attached). For the pasta he prepares egg tagliolini with the grain of Caselle in Pittari, from the Stone Mill of the Social Cooperative Terra di Resilienza; then he adds some local territory excellence, the white figs of Cilento, that with their sweetness create a nice contrast with the savory taste of the pecorino (Roman) and guanciale (from Norcia). In the absence of figs depending on the season you can also use pears, to get the same result. For Remo something that should never be missing is the combination of a glass of white wine Frascati dei Castelli Romani, where he lives today and where he continues to innovate his food with a mix of Cilento and Lazio, which every time gets more and more interesting.
