This is another Nick pasta meal. I figured we should do a post about it because I keep seeing cacio e pepe feature on restaurant menus for ~$17 and that is just silliness. Nick is going to tell you here how you can make it in under 15 mins for as much as it costs you to buy some spaghetti and peppercorns!
Cacio e Pepe
- fresh linguini fini (or some other thin, long pasta)
- peppercorns, 1 tbs
- butter, 1 tbs
- fresh parmesan, start with 1tbs and then keep adding until its the right consistency.
Cacio e Pepe is a simple artful dish that can be made relatively quickly. It take a few times to get it right as it is more of a feel based thing than an exact science. At its best it is both creamy and peppery, each piece of pasta evenly coated with a “sauce” (it is really more of a light integrated coating) that is not too loose or thick.
- Prepare your pasta with well seasoned water. I usually prefer fresh linguini fini (a smaller linguini) but with angel hair it is really nice too!
- Meanwhile, melt a generous amount of butter and olive oil in a pan and sauté a few pinches of black pepper corns.
- Once they have been simmering a while you can crush them in a mortar and pestle then move them back to the oil or you can just crush them with the back or a spoon or fork in the pan. If it’s too tough to do I know it isn’t ready yet.
- Drain your pasta being sure to keep a good amount of the seasoned pasta water. Butter / salt your pasta in the strainer.
- Now comes the artful part. Have a container full of parmesan and your pasta water close by. Throw the cooked pasta into the black pepper butter / oil. Add a bit of your pasta water and a generous amount of parmesan into the pan and toss the pasta. Repeat this step until the pasta is evenly coated and serve immediately.
Tips and Notes: It really took me making this three times before I got the result I wanted but I learned a few things along the way:
- Make sure the pan isn’t too hot or cold. Medium low is good but I usually take it off the heat half way through the process
- Make sure to use enough butter. More butter makes this easier
- It will probably get clumpy the first time. This is an indication that either the temperature is wrong or your haven’t added a good amount of pasta water.
- Don’t worry if you mess up because the result is usually amazing anyway 😉
- Grilled asparagus and burrata with lemon juice makes an excellent side
