A take on the Italian classic known as cacio e pepe, but instead of only using a classic black peppercorn, I also used a fermented green peppercorn variety gifted to me from Atef at SOS Chefs. Lately I’ve been using this on more things and… I’m kinda obsessed with it. It adds a bit of an acidity and edge to the bite, which can be that thing ya need when you tryna impress.

Yourself or someone, idk your life…!

Ingredients

• Fresh bucatini pasta – I like this one because of the particular thickness and the hole, though I know it’s typically used for other Italian pasta dishes...
• Cheeses:
  • pecorino romano and
  • parmiggiano reggiano
• Grey salt
• Fermented green peppercorn
• Peppercorn
• Butter/oil
• Garlic cloves, chopped
  

Directions

Align timing based on fresh or dry pasta. If dry, more time. Heat up a pot of water, add a pinch of salt, and throw in bucatini. They often come in little bundles. If I’m serving two people, I throw in 3 bundles cause no one ever had a problem with extra noods. If you have sides to accompany, then you might be okay without the extra.

Somewhere in this, before or during: grind up the cheeses. A bunch of fluffy clouds, and as cheesy as you’re gonna want.

To be honest, it looks like you could grind up some more there, just saying…

Let the noodles cook. If you cook pasta often, though, you might have a time in your head. Reduce that time by like 25%, or check on them noodles often. We want nearly al-dente texture.

Heat up a frying pan on medium-high heat. Throw in the near al dente noodles into the pan with butter, oil, and finely chopped up garlic. Add a bit of the starchy pot water if things look dry, or heck do it anyway.

Let the noodles cook in the pan. Salt and pepper (normal) a bit as they near finishing, and toss a bit of the fluffy cheese in there, too, ahead of time. Save most of it to mix in fresh, though, outside of the pan.

Remove noodles from pan. Transfer directly into serving bowls. Throw cheeses on top, salt again to top. This time, sprinkle the fermented peppercorn all around.

Serve.

Optionals if you have these laying around and want to expand cacio e pepe (there’s no rules):

• Heirloom cherry tomatoes
• A thicker chili flake, for color
• Wine, red or preference