Pici Cacio e Pepe
For the dough you will need:
- 200g strong flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 95g warm water
- Flour for dusting
For the cacio e pepe sauce:
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp white wine
- 40g butter
- 160ml (2/3 cups if you have measuring cups) pasta water
- 60g finely grated parmesan cheese
Optional
- Cherry tomatoes, halved
- Parsley, rough chop
To make the pasta add your flour, salt, oil and water into a bowl and mix until it forms a shaggy dough. Knead for six to ten minutes until you get a smooth, soft, elastic ball. It will be a bit tacky to the touch but it shouldn't be overly sticky. You can also do this in a mixer with a dough hook. Wrap the dough in cling film and rest in the fridge for an hour, or this can be made up to 24 hours in advance.
When you are ready to work with the dough take it out of the fridge and place it on a clean, dry work surface, do not use flour, as this will make it nigh on impossible to roll and shape the pasta. Prep a baking sheet with some flour in that as a landing place for your shaped pasta. Set a pot of well-salted water to boil, so it is nice and ready when you are done making your pasta.
Press and stretch the dough gently with your fingers to make a rectangle that is approximately 12 cm x 20cm. Using a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut the dough into strips, so that is 12cm long and about half the width of your thumb. Using both hands, roll and stretch the strip starting from the middle until it is about double in length. Place the pasta into the tray with the flour and give it a good coating of the flour to ensure it does not stick to anything. Before moving onto the next piece, ensure your hands are not covered in flour and repeat the process until all the dough has been turned into pasta.
Let your pasta rest to the side as your gather all your ingredients to make the cheese and pepper sauce. Do cover the pasta if you are worried about it drying out or you are not going to use them within the next 20 minutes. Once you have all of your sauce ingredients ready to go, add the pepper, butter, lemon juice, white wine and set the pan to medium heat. All that is needed now is the pasta water.
Add your pici to your boiling pot of water and let the water return to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally to ensure they don't stick. When the boil is back, set your timer for 3 minutes and 5 minutes. At the 3-minute mark, take out your 2/3 cups of pasta water and add it to the saucepan, reducing the heat to medium-low. At the 5-minute mark, transfer the pici from the water directly to the pan using some tongs. All that starchy water is going to help the sauce set up and coat the noodles.
Once your pasta is in the pan with the sauce, give it a stir to cover the noodles, then coat the surface of your pasta with an even layer of parmesan. Do not agitate, disturb, fiddle or mess with it at this point. The cheese needs to melt and incorporate and you could risk a claggy sauce if you do not let it settle in. When the cheese has melted and the cheese at the centre of the pan has gone translucent, this should only take a couple of minutes, you can toss the contents together and ensure everything is combined. If you are using it, add your cherry tomatoes and parsley now, and let the pasta simmer for a further minute or two to get the sauce to thicken, stirring occasionally. When the desired thickness is achieved, plate up and enjoy!
Pici Cacio e Pepe has a satisfying squidgy texture and the sauce is smooth but not heavy. I like the cherry tomatoes as they add brightness to the dish and break up the peppery profile of the pasta. It truly hits all the marks.