Cacio e Pere

Hozzávalók

1 Box of Rigatoni, but any pasta will do. Try something with holes, though.

2 or 3 Bosc Pears, diced!

Guanciale or Pancetta, also diced! (You can leave this out!!)

Grated Pecorino Romano

Olive Oil

Black Pepper

Salt

Sugar

Útmutatók

Begin by starting to cook the pasta to al dente per package instructions. Salt the water like it’s the ocean!! About halfway into the process, I’d grab at least 1-2 cups of the starchy pasta water for use later.

While waiting for the water to boil or the pasta to cook, start frying up the guanciale or pancetta or bacon or whatever it is you have on medium-high heat in a tiny bit of olive oil until cooked thoroughly. Feel free to skip this if you want to avoid adding meat. Set it aside in a cup or a bowl or whatever but make sure to leave the grease in the pan.

Add a bit more olive oil if you’re feeling like the pan needs it, and throw the pears in there on medium heat. Season with a bit of salt and a nice amount of black pepper. I’d also recommend throwing a smidge of sugar on top as well, a little will go a long way here to accentuate the pear flavor. Fry until starting to slightly brown, but be sure to not cook so much they become mushy. Test the firmness while frying to make sure you don’t overdo it. I’d guess this takes about five minutes. Put the pears with the meat to the side.

Put your grated pecorino in a mug or a bowl and add a pretty shocking amount of black pepper in there, a bit more than you’d think. Throw some of the pasta water in there and mix until it’s a paste. Don’t add so much that it becomes watery, you want it to still be kind of solid.

In your empty but probably still-oily pan, crack even more fresh ground pepper in and toast for like 5-10 seconds on medium-low heat, you should be able to smell it. Add a ladle of pasta water which should start simmering immediately and then add your pasta, tossing it a bit which should turn into a kind of peppery, oily sauce. Add the pears and meat in and continue tossing.

Add the pecorino mixture from step 4 and continue tossing and mixing around. If you find the cheese isn’t turning into a sauce, add a smidge more water while tossing to hopefully loosen everything up. Refer to the above tiktok again for a good visual here.