Amatriciana is a simple, delicious sauce you can make while the water for your pasta is boiling! For centuries it was prepared with guanciale (dried cured pigs cheek) and grated local pecornio (sheep’s milk cheese) and was known as Gricia (from the village of Grisciano in central Italy). While tomato-less Gricia is still prepared in some parts, it is the tomato-enriched Amatriciana that has become a “classic” sauce all over Italy.