Pasta alla Romana
A Roman sauce of prosciutto cotto and peas in a light tomato base. No guanciale, no egg, no pecorino — this is the weeknight corner of the Roman kitchen.
Pasta alla Romana belongs to the mid-century Roman home kitchen rather than the restaurant. Unlike the city's more famous sauces built on guanciale and pecorino, this one is built on prosciutto cotto — cooked ham — alongside peas and a light touch of tomato. It is a sauce of the pantry rather than the tradition, and it is none the worse for it.
Only a few ingredients
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A thin layer. Medium heat. Just enough to start the onion.
Onion
Finely diced. Low and slow until translucent. No colour — the sweetness is what you're after.
Prosciutto Cotto
Into the softened onion. Let it take a little colour and release its fat — prosciutto cotto renders quickly and quietly. Do not overdo the heat.
Peas
Frozen work perfectly. In with the prosciutto. They only need a few minutes to defrost and warm through.
Peeled Tomatoes
Crushed by hand. A jar of passata works too. Let it reduce for a few minutes — you want the sauce to coat the pasta, not pool under it.
Parmigiano Reggiano
Grated at the end, off the heat. Tossed through just before serving.
Prosciutto cotto, not crudo. Not guanciale.
Pasta alla Romana uses cooked ham (prosciutto cotto) — mild, tender, and delicate. Prosciutto crudo (cured ham) is too assertive, and guanciale is the wrong meat entirely. This is not a cousin of Carbonara or Gricia; it is its own dish, defined by the gentle sweetness of cooked ham and the soft texture of peas.
Penne
The standard Roman choice. The angled tubes catch the peas and the sauce.
Rigatoni
Works beautifully — the ridges hold every bit of the sauce.
Ready to cook?
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Other sauces from the same region
Carbonara
A Roman dish built on patience and restraint. The richness you taste is not cream — it is the alchemy of egg yolk, aged cheese, and the water your pasta cooked in.
Aglio e Olio
Rome distilled to four ingredients. The result depends entirely on how you treat the garlic.
Cacio e Pepe
Beyond simplicity lies complexity. Cheese and pepper. That is all. Yet the three-minute emulsification required to build this sauce separates the masters from the novices.
Burro e Parmigiano (Alfredo)
A silken emulsion of butter, Parmigiano Reggiano, and pasta water. Roman simplicity at its peak—no cream, only technique. The sauce emerges when cold butter meets hot pasta and starchy water.
Amatriciana
A bold, rustic sauce from the mountain town of Amatrice. It is the evolution of Gricia, adding tomato to the holy trinity of guanciale, pecorino, and pepper.
Vignarola
A springtime celebration of Rome's finest vegetables—fava beans, peas, and artichokes tossed with guanciale and Pecorino Romano. Light, seasonal, and deeply Roman.
Papalina
A creamy Roman sauce of peas, heavy cream, and either prosciutto or guanciale. It is a richer cousin to Peas and Bacon, with papal grandeur in its name.
Zozzona
A rustic, hearty Roman pasta of tomatoes, pancetta, and a hint of cream. The name comes from the Roman dialect word 'zozz,' meaning dirty, simple man—it's a working person's dish.
Gricia
The ancestor of Carbonara. Guanciale, Pecorino, and black pepper without the egg—a dish of pure Roman clarity, celebrated for its restraint.
Arrabiata
The angry sauce. Four ingredients, one rule: enough chili to matter.
Cacio e Uova
A shepherd's sauce from the Lazio mountains — the simplest possible emulsion of pecorino, egg, and pasta water. It is the ancestor of Carbonara in its most stripped-down form, and it predates the guanciale by centuries.
Penne alla Vodka
Tomato, cream, and vodka. The alcohol is not a gimmick — it releases flavour compounds from the tomato that water and oil cannot reach. A 1970s classic, still misunderstood.