Linguine cacio (cheese) e pepe (pepper). This is really one of the best pasta dishes I know in terms of satisfaction yield versus energy and ingredients; there’s only three of them: pasta, pecorino cheese and peppercorns. This really will get your mouth watering: the salty savouriness of the cheese and the toasty fragrant heat of the peppercorns make the silky pasta taste almost creamy in itself. The starchy pasta water is important too (I guess this is ingredient number four) so be sure not to tip it all down the sink. I think this is a great one for entertaining if you’ve got little time to prepare because it tastes great and it’s unusual here in the UK. The origins of this recipe hail from Ancient Rome. It’s believed that shepherds from the region, whilst driving their flock, would take with them long lasting, calorific ingredients to sustain them. There was a method to their selection: peppercorns were known to support digestive function and believed to help stave off the cold, the salty cacio cheese brought flavour and was long lasting, white the carbohydrates in the pasta would give the shepherd the energy required for the task. For this recipe, it’s better to use pasta which is thin (like spaghetti or linguine) and egg free, as larger ribbons/shapes or egg pasta is too porous, absorbing too much of the dressing rendering your meal dry and clumpy.
Recipe is on website coming shortly!
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