Peppery Pasta

Recipe.

My aunt recently had the great fortune of having the head chef of Maialino in NYC, Nick Anderer, teach a cooking class in her apartment. #greenwithenvy

Thankfully, she took great notes and shared her newly learned recipes with me this weekend. And there is one recipe that you MUST add to your weekday recipe reportoire, Tonnarelli a Caccio e Pepe. Or as I like to call it, Peppery Cheesy Pasta Perfection. (Yes...I am cheesy)

photo courtesy of diario di una passione

The entire dish takes about 15 minutes from start to finish...but it tastes like it should have taken SO much longer. Tag this recipe, folks. You're going to want to employ it often.

Tonnarelli a Cacio e Pepe

(serves 4)

1 Tbsp Coarse Ground Black Pepper
3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

2 Cups Reserved Pasta Water
1.5 Cups Grated Pecorino Cheese (preferably from the Fulvi region) plus more for table

1 1/2 lbs Tonnarelli Pasta ***

1. Bring large pot of salted water to boil.

2. Heat 1 Tbsp of the butter in a 14" sautee pan over medium heat and add the pepper.

3. Once the pepper has started to sizzle and become quite fragrant, add 1.5 cups of the salted boiling water. Set aside off heat.

4. Cook pasta according to package instructions or 4-5 minutes if fresh pasta. It should be slightly chewy like Udon noodles. Remove pasta with a slotted spoon and reserve the water.

5. Toss the cooked noodles in the sautee pan and return to a medium high heat. Add remaining butter and cook for 1 minute until the buttery water coats all of the pasta.

6. Remove pan from heat and mix in the grated pecorino cheese until the water thickens around the noodles. If the cheese sauce is too sticky, add a little of the reserved pasta water to loosen it up a bit.

Enjoy!!

*** We had the benefit of using the chef's delicious homemade pasta noodles. But you can definitely use dried as well...Mancini or Rustichella d'Abruzzo being the best if you can find them (check local specialty foods stores).