Ciao!
So, as expected, I spent this weekend laying in the sun, at various spots around Rome. On Saturday, I laid in the sun in Villa Pompilli and today, I laid in the sun at the beach, Santa Marinella. In order to not bore you with pictures of the sun (and my great tan ;-)), I have decided to show another part of what makes Rome great...the food!
I had never been a big fan of pasta, until I tasted Italian pasta...which does not resemble Italian-American style pasta at all. Instead, the flavors are unique and very complex. One of my favorite dishes is Spaghetti (or even better, Bucatini) cacio e pepe which is a very Roman dish. Cacio is a slang word for cheese (also known as "fromaggio") and "pepe" is, of course, pepper. Because this dish is my favorite, an Italian friend's mother passed to me the simple and yet delicious recipe--and...I am going to share it with you! So, move over Spaghetti Factory, here it is:
Cacio e Pepe-- Roman style
Makes 2 servings, Cooking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
2 servings of spaghetti or bucatini pasta
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
Pepper to taste
A drizzle of EVOO
1/4 cup pasta water (the secret ingredient!!)
Salt to taste
First, cook the pasta in boiling water for 6 minutes. This leaves the pasta al dente--what you want for this recipe. During the 6 minutes that the pasta is cooking, grate your cheese. Then combine the cheese and the pepper in a large bowl. The amount of pepper you use should be based on your taste. Pepper is one of the star ingredients of this dish, and it is usually served with quite a bit of pepper. But...over peppering can kill the flavor, so start with less (about 5 turns of a pepper mill) and add more later.
Once the pasta is ready, ladle out 1/4 cup of pasta water, reserved for later. Then, drain the pasta but do not rinse it. Add the pasta to the big bowl.
Then using spoons, toss the pasta with the cheese and pepper. The cheese will start to melt and clump up a bit...keep tossing!
If you notice that your pasta mixture looks a little dry, add a little bit of the pasta water. Add sparingly. Keep tossing until you have almost a cheese sauce coating all of the pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste. Finish with a drizzle of EVOO.
And...that's it! E' molto facile! Enjoy with a glass of red Italian wine (perhaps a glass of nero d'avolo or syrah)! Buon appetito!
So, as expected, I spent this weekend laying in the sun, at various spots around Rome. On Saturday, I laid in the sun in Villa Pompilli and today, I laid in the sun at the beach, Santa Marinella. In order to not bore you with pictures of the sun (and my great tan ;-)), I have decided to show another part of what makes Rome great...the food!
I had never been a big fan of pasta, until I tasted Italian pasta...which does not resemble Italian-American style pasta at all. Instead, the flavors are unique and very complex. One of my favorite dishes is Spaghetti (or even better, Bucatini) cacio e pepe which is a very Roman dish. Cacio is a slang word for cheese (also known as "fromaggio") and "pepe" is, of course, pepper. Because this dish is my favorite, an Italian friend's mother passed to me the simple and yet delicious recipe--and...I am going to share it with you! So, move over Spaghetti Factory, here it is:
Cacio e Pepe-- Roman style
Makes 2 servings, Cooking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
2 servings of spaghetti or bucatini pasta
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
Pepper to taste
A drizzle of EVOO
1/4 cup pasta water (the secret ingredient!!)
Salt to taste
 |
| The ingredients. |
First, cook the pasta in boiling water for 6 minutes. This leaves the pasta al dente--what you want for this recipe. During the 6 minutes that the pasta is cooking, grate your cheese. Then combine the cheese and the pepper in a large bowl. The amount of pepper you use should be based on your taste. Pepper is one of the star ingredients of this dish, and it is usually served with quite a bit of pepper. But...over peppering can kill the flavor, so start with less (about 5 turns of a pepper mill) and add more later.
 |
| Cheese and pepper--ready to go! |
Once the pasta is ready, ladle out 1/4 cup of pasta water, reserved for later. Then, drain the pasta but do not rinse it. Add the pasta to the big bowl.
Then using spoons, toss the pasta with the cheese and pepper. The cheese will start to melt and clump up a bit...keep tossing!
If you notice that your pasta mixture looks a little dry, add a little bit of the pasta water. Add sparingly. Keep tossing until you have almost a cheese sauce coating all of the pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste. Finish with a drizzle of EVOO.
And...that's it! E' molto facile! Enjoy with a glass of red Italian wine (perhaps a glass of nero d'avolo or syrah)! Buon appetito!
Oh this looks wonderful! Your pix are so beautiful, too! I'm trying it immediately!
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