Bucatini Cacio e Pepe
Quite simply, bucatini cacio e pepe is pasta in a sharp cheese and black pepper sauce. Great alternative to a tomato-based pasta recipe.
Ingredients
- 200g/1/2 lbs bucatini or spaghetti
- 1 tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 80g/3/4 cup/3 oz Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1 tbsp butter
- 170ml/3/4 cup hot pasta water
Instructions
- Start cooking the pasta in a pot of boiling and salted water. Reduce the amount of water in the pot by about ⅓ of what you usually use to concentrate the starch, which will become a part of the sauce later. Cook the pasta according to package instructions.
- Grate the cheese using the smallest grater holes, it needs to be extra fine to create a silky sauce. Do not use pre-grated cheese for this recipe. Grind and measure out the pepper.
- Preheat a mixing bowl, so it’s warm. You can use a low setting oven or microwave it for a minute, which is what I did. Add the cheese to it and the black pepper. Start gradually adding the hot pasta water to it a little bit at a time and mix it with a whisk until you get a smooth sauce, which looks a bit like béchamel, the cheese should completely incorporated into it. I added 170ml/3/4 cup of the warm pasta water in total.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce, start coating it gently using a pair of tongs or two large spoons until the sauce is coating every bucatini strand. Serve in warm bowls with extra grating of the cheese if desired.
Nutrition
Calories: 579kcalCarbohydrates: 77gProtein: 26gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 531mgPotassium: 272mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 346IUCalcium: 453mgIron: 2mg
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