Brown butter cacio e pepe
A glossy, cheesy sauce with a peppery kick! Cacio e pepe is one of the Roman classics, and this twist with brown butter adds a nutty note which I think you'll love.
Servings: 2 people
Ingredients
- 200 g pasta of choice
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 150 g Pecorino Romano as finely grated as possible
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil and cook your pasta until al dente.
- Meanwhile, bloom the peppercorns by gently heating then in a dry pan until fragrant - around 2 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and grind until coarse.
- Heat the butter in a pan to brown. Swirl the pan frequently as the butter melts and splutters. Eventually it'll foam up and you'll notice it starts to smell nutty. Continue whisking to help evenly distribute the milk solids. Once the sputtering sound suddenly comes to a halt, your butter should be nicely browned.
- Add 1 teaspoon of the ground black pepper and allow this to cook momentarily before removing the pan with the butter and pepper from the heat and set aside while your pasta finishes cooking.
- Once the pasta is al dente, put the brown butter back on a low heat and add the pasta directly to it. Toss well and add a splash more pasta water to create a base for the cheese emulsion.
- Remove the pan from the heat again, and add the finely grated Pecorino Romano by the handful and quickly agitate the pan, stirring, whirling and tossing vigorously to create a creamy sauce.
- Serve immediately with an extra crack of black pepper, and enjoy!
Add pasta water as needed if this feels too thick and coagulated, or if you add too much water you can add some extra grated Pecorino to thicken - however don't forget as the pasta sits and cools it will naturally thicken, so don't worry too much if it feels a little loose.
