Browned Butter Cacio e Pepe by Tom

A Roman Classic Dish -- Cheese and Pepper Pasta

Barbara bought a new monitor for the living room not long ago, and she has recently been streaming our pictures from a trip we took to Italy in 2013.  Fun to reminisce about the places we visited and the food we ate.

In Rome, we did have this classic Roman recipe of butter, cheese, pepper and pasta.  It is a very simple recipe, but really, really good.  So I thought I would make it again.  I had made it a couple of years ago, but this time, and this version, is even better.

Colleen provided the original recipe ingredients from a trip they had made to Italy, and Barbara had posted her recipe a few years ago.  My version uses exactly the same ingredients, but I have browned the butter which Colleen's version did not.  Browning the butter gives this dish a nuttier taste along with all of the other classic flavors.

(Some recipes reverse the quantities of cheese, favoring the Parmesan over the Pecorino. I don't think it much matters. Use what you have!)

So, do try this updated classic Roman recipe, and enjoy.

----Tom

  
Cacio e Pepe  (Cheese and Pepper Pasta)

Serves 4

3 teaspoons freshly cracked pepper (use less if you don't want it really spicy - see note*)
1- 1 1/2 cups Pecorino Romano (finely grated)
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated 
3 Tablespoons of olive oil
3 Tablespoons of butter
1 1b box of pasta (spaghetti or linguine)

*Note: With this amount of pepper, the dish is quite spicy. I liked it, but you could easily saute half the amount of pepper, and serve the rest of the cracked pepper at the table for people to season the dish to individual taste.

Brown the butter with the oil until browned in a  large sauté/skillet pan.  Then sauté the cracked pepper in the olive oil and browned butter for a few minutes. Set aside.

Heavily salt the water and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta to just al dente - don't over cook because you will still be cooking the pasta in the sauce.

Remove the pasta from the water and toss with the pepper, browned butter and oil. You don't need to drain. Just get tongs and lift it out and add directly to the pan.

Add in the cheeses and toss, ladling in hot pasta water from the pot as needed to make the sauce creamy.

Serve immediately. 

---Tom