Mise en Place: Pasta Cacio e Pepe
We first had this dish at Taverna Cestia in Rome. It is simple, and very quick when made with fresh pasta.
- Salt
- 1 pound dried spaghetti
- 8 to 10 peppercorns, ground coarsely
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for sprinkling on top
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it aggressively until it tastes like sea water.
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Drop in the pasta and allow it to return to the boil.
- Five minutes into cooking the pasta (immediately if using fresh pasta), pour the pepper into a skillet on medium heat for a minute, then carefully add a ladleful of pasta cooking water.
- Allow that to cook down for a second, then stir in the butter.
- Maintain the sauce at a gentle simmer and if the pan gets too dry, ladle in pasta cooking water. There should be a solid layer of liquid before adding the spaghetti.
- When the pasta is al dente, transfer it with tongs to the pan with the pepper/butter sauce.
- Turn up the heat and stir and toss with tongs until all the pasta is coated and almost all of the liquid is gone.
- When the pasta’s properly coated, take the pan off the heat and add the cheese.
- Stir and taste for balance. Serve immediately with a good Italian red wine.
