As simple and classic as it gets! This dish is all about the ingredients! Awesome olive oil, Italian cheeses, pasta, and black pepper come together to form one of Italy’s most famous dishes Cacio e Pepe (cheese and pepper pasta). This is a home run for anyone, especially kids!
Ingredients
1 pound spaghetti
dried or fresh Kosher salt
1 /4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups pasta water
3oz Pecorino Romano, finely grated
1oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
Preparation
- In a large pot bring heavily salted water to a boil. Begin to cook pasta.
- In a large skillet over medium heat warm olive oil and add the black pepper, cook for 1 minute then remove from heat. Return the pan to the heat when the pasta has 1 minute of cook time left. Cook for an additional minute over medium heat.
- Drain the pasta well and reserve 2 cups of water. Add the pasta to the pan and cook gently, stirring for 1-2 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low and add 1 cup of the pasta water to the pan, gradually begin adding the cheese stirring as you go. You may add in a small amount of additional pasta water until you get a sauce that coats the pasta and is creamy, but we do not want it runny or overly saucy.
- Separate into 4-6 deep bowls and garnish with additional freshly cracked pepper and Pecorino Romano.