Cacio e pepe

Cacio e Pepe

Ingredients:

• Homemade Pasta
• 3 g (~1 tsp) black pepper, freshly ground, course
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 7 g sodium citrate
  • at 2.0% to 3.0% ratio of total liquid plus cheese weight makes for a creamier mouth feel and the sauce doesn’t break as easily when reheating.
  • 4 oz lemon juice and 4.5 grams baking soda produce about this much.
• 100 g (~1 cup) parmesan cheese, finely grated

Directions:

• Cut the pasta into whatever shape you want.
• Bring two quarts of water to a boil and salt (a Tbsp should be plenty).
• Cook the pasta until al dente.
  • This will not take more than a couple minutes.
• Drain the pasta, reserving 2 cups of the pasta water.
• Put the colander back over the pot and set aside.
• Add the pepper to a pan over medium heat.
• When the pepper begins to get fragrant, add the olive oil and butter.
• When the butter is melted, stir in 1 cup of the reserved pasta water and the sodium citrate.
• When the sodium citrate is dissolved, turn off the heat.
• Stir in the cheese until it melts.
• Add the pasta to the pan and toss with tongs until fully coated.
• If the "sauce" isn't "creamy" enough, then add more pasta water a Tbsp at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.