Foolproof Cacio e Pepe

• porties: 2-3
• actieve tijd: 10 minutes
• totale tijd: 30 minutes

Ingrediënten

½ lb spaghetti

2 oz pecorino romano cheese, finely grated (grate it yourself to avoid anti-caking agents)

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tsp coarse ground pepper

More coarse ground pepper to taste

Instructies

Add the olive oil and black pepper to a wide pan over medium heat. Cook until the pepper is fragrant and barely starting to sizzle, about 1 minute. Take off the heat and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and lightly salt the water. Add the spaghetti and cook until al-dente. Keep all the cooking water

If you have a wide enough pan you can place the dry spaghetti in the pan instead. Cover with cold water, season with salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir occasionally to prevent clumping. This will concentrate the starch in the pasta water.

Transfer 2-3 tbsp of pasta water to the pan with the olive oil and pepper. Add in the butter and stir everything to combine.

Use tongs to lift the pasta out of the water and into the pan.

Add the grated cheese and toss the pasta until the cheese is completely melted. Add more pasta water as needed to thin the sauce, reheating as necessary. You should be left with a creamy sauce.

Season to taste with salt and a good amount of coarse black pepper. Serve hot with more cheese and pepper on the side. Enjoy!

Notities

A classic Roman pasta dish traditionally consisting of just 3 ingredients. Pasta, pecorino romano, and black pepper. This recipe adds two more ingredients, butter and olive oil, to make the process a little more consistent. Like with carbonara, freshly cracked black pepper is a prominent key flavor in the dish, so go pretty heavy with it! Otherwise, this is a quick indulgent weeknight meal.