Gramigna Bertozzi

What the hell is Gramigna Bertozzi? Well it’s a bougie way of saying pasta with guanciale, zucchini, and saffron cream.

Admittedly I learned about this dish while watching an episode of Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. Kimball visited an Italian restaurant and learned how to make this dish and let me tell you, the way the chef made this looked amazing. But then Christopher and his team had to dumb it down in their test kitchen and their presentation made it look pretty lame IMO.

So I did the right thing and watched the segment a few times and did some Internet sleuthing in order to get close to what the TV was showing me. I’m pretty sure I nailed it. I am also pretty sure you’ll love this dish as much as I do.

Ingredients

• 8 oz of pasta - technically this should be gramigna but use anything with a decent surface area. I used gemelli.

• 1/2 pound of bite sized diced guanciale (use pancetta or bacon if you can’t find it)

• 2 large garlic cloves

• 1 large zucchini sliced into 1/4” half moons

• 10-15 strands of saffron

• 1 cup of heavy cream

Method

1. Slice the zucchini and set aside

2. Dice the guanciale and set aside

3. Lightly smash the garlic cloves and set aside

4. In a large pot, add about two quarts of water

5. Add about 2 tablespoons of salt to the water and bring to a boil

6. While the water is heating, heat a high sided skillet over med heat

7. Add a small amount of extra virgin olive oil to the skillet

8. Add the guanciale and garlic to the skillet

9. Cook the guanciale until it is a dark brown color and most of the fat is rendered

10. Once the guanciale is cooked, reduce the heat to low and discard the garlic cloves

11. Add the zucchini to the guanciale and mix well

12. By now the water should be boiling and add the pasta - cook for 1 minute less than the package recommends

13. When the pasta is at the halfway point, reserve 1/2-3/4 of a cup of pasta water

14. Add the saffron to the pasta water to bloom

15. When the pasta is done use a slotted spoon to transfer the pasta to the skillet

16. Add the saffron and pasta water and bring to a simmer

17. When the water has reduced by 1/2 add the cream

18. Stir everything well

19. Bring to a simmer and reduce until the cream thickens

20. Serve with grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese