Bucatini Pasta Cacio & Pepe

Enjoy a cozy meal with bucatini pasta Cacio & Pepe. A few easy ingredients for a creamy, flavor loaded dinner. It will become part of your meal rotation! Makes 4 servings.

Easy Ingredients

· 1 tablespoon Villa Graziella Organic extra virgin olive oil + extra for serving.

· 1-pound 16 ounces of dry bucatini pasta, regular spaghetti ok too.

· 2 ½ cups finely grated fresh Pecorino Romano cheese.

· 1 ½-2 tablespoons black peppercorns.

· Flakey sea salt to taste.

Simple Directions

1. Warm a large sauté, frying pan or Dutch oven to medium high heat. Toast the peppercorns 2 ½ minutes or until they become very aromatic. Do not burn them.

2. Remove from the stove, allow to cool. Grind the peppercorns to a small size with a coarse texture using a spice grinder or a mortar & pestle. Size will not be uniform. Set aside.

3. Divide the Pecorino cheese into 3 piles: 1 large pile, 1 medium pile, 1 small pile.

4. Cook the bucatini 1-2 minutes less than the package directions, it will continue to cook after draining. As the pasta starts to cook, reserve 1 ½ cups of water, immediately set aside to fully cool or place in the refrigerator.

5. As the pasta cooks, return the large sauté pan to the stove, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. Add the ground pepper back to the pan, stir 1-2 minutes.

6. Remove the pan from the heat, add the large pile of cheese and ½ cup of the cooled pasta water. Quickly stir, combining until fully blended for a loose, emulsified, sauce.

7. Drain the pasta. Using tongs add 2 portions of pasta to the pan with sauce, so as not to overload it. Mix vigorously as the pasta absorbs the sauce.

8. Then add 2 more pasta portions to the pan, stir in the medium pile of cheese, and ¼ cup of pasta water stirring continuously. Continue to mix, the sauce should now be thick & creamy. If not, add ¼ cup more of pasta water so the pasta is thoroughly coated.

9. Immediately add the pasta to a large serving bowl, or individual bowls. Garnish with the 3rd pile of cheese, and sea salt. Toss, season to taste.

10. Serve, and enjoy immediately!

Helpful Hints:

· Toasting peppercorns before grinding brings out oil with spicy, peppery notes. For milder sauce use 1 ½ tablespoon of peppercorns, for a spicier taste, use 2 tablespoons.

· The starch from the pasta water helps the sauce evenly coat the bucatini.

· Fully cool the pasta water to help prevent the sauce from becoming lumpy.

· Cacio & pepe pasta is not a make ahead recipe. Enjoy immediately while hot, the sauce will stiffen as it cools.

· Cacio & Pepe originated from Roman sheep herders, “cacio” is cheese in Roman dialect. Pecorino Romano is a salty, aged sheep's milk cheese dating back to the Roman Empire.

· Bucatini has a hollow center allowing sauce to coat the pasta inside and out.

· Cover & refrigerate up to 3 days, do not freeze. To reheat, add the pasta to a medium saucepan over low heat with ¼ cup of water. Stir until hot & creamy.

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