1. Toast the peppercorns in a dry pan for a few minutes over low-medium heat, until fragrant. Crack them (mortar and pestle or however you want)
2. Cook the pasta in a relatively small amount of water for recommended time
3. Take a second pan, like a large-ish frying pan, and add the peppercorns. Add about half a cup of starchy pasta water to the pan. Do not put the pan on heat.
4. Mix the cheeses and divide into two bowls. In one bowl, add a quarter cup or so of starchy pasta water. Mix until a paste forms.
5. Use tongs to move the pasta from the water to the pan with the water and peppercorns. Toss and stir.
5. Add the cheese paste to the pasta. Mix well until the cheese paste becomes a thin sauce by mixing with the water in the pan.
6. Add the other bit of your cheese bit by bit, mixing, until it’s thick and creamy. If you go too far, add a bit more pasta water.
7. Serve. Grind fresh black pepper on top for extra pepper.
**Spaghetti with meat sauce**
This recipe is basically my mom’s, but evolved over my adult life so far. It’s pretty odd, is what I’m saying. I’ve never seen anyone else make spaghetti this way, and I probably mostly like it because of nostalgia and because it was my favorite dish growing up, but I’ve also served it to quite a few people and people usually really like my spaghetti. So even if it’s probably not ideal, it’s at least *fine*. Personally, I think it’s amazing, but maybe I can’t tell because I grew up loving it so much.
Like I said, weird recipe. It just uses tomato paste for the tomatoes. I don’t know why my mom did that, but it’s what I grew up with, and I really like this recipe. It’s actually changed quite a bit from what she made, but the base is the same.
1. Saute the garlic and onion in olive oil for a couple of minutes, until it’s not entirely raw.
2. Add the ground meat. Salt and pepper. Cook until not pink, then continue cooking until the meat starts to caramelize just slightly. If you’re using 85/15 or 80/20, you’ll want to drain the fat at this point.
3. Add the can of tomato paste. Stir it up well with the meat, and continue cooking while stirring over medium-low heat until the paste begins to sizzle and take on just a little color.
4. Add a can worth of water and stir until well combined. Add another 2 cans of water or so and stir until you have a relatively thin sauce; thinner than you want the sauce to end up, but not like tomato soup or something. Salt and pepper at this point.
5. Add the spices and herbs. I add the chili powder first, and give it a little longer, because I want the edges to be blunted down from it. I’m guessing a bit on the amounts here, because I judge this by how much it looks like when sprinkled on top. It *should not* be enough chili powder to taste like chili; just enough to give the sauce some . . . power. Add the sugar too, if you want. I often don’t, but I think a slight bit of sweetness is a just barely better.
6. Add the balsamic vinegar and a few drops of fish sauce. If youv’e got some fresh grated parmesan, that’s also really good in there. Not a lot, it shouldn’t taste cheesy. Just some to give it a little extra depth and that “oomph” flavor.
7. Stir and cook for awhile on low. You don’t want it to be bubbling, just steaming. Over the course of the next 20-40 minutes, it’ll thicken up to the point where it’s a little thicker than you want the sauce to be. That’s good.
8. Around 20 minutes in, cook your pasta in salted water for however long it says on the package.
9. When the pasta is almost done, your sauce will probably be a little too thick. Add a half ladle or so of the pasta water and stir that in. If still too thick, add another. Let the sauce bubble slightly at this point. I don’t know for sure if this really ‘activates’ the starch or whatever, but it seems like I get better results this way.
10. Taste and test for salt again.
11. Plate the spaghetti and ladle your sauce on top. I know, I know. I should finish the pasta *in* the sauce. And for everything except “the spaghetti I grew up with” I do.
12. Garnish with fresh parsley and parmesan cheese. Since I had real parmigiano reggiano from my earlier recipe, I used that, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t often use the green can stuff.
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**Cacio e pepe**
– 8 oz bucatini
– 5 oz pecorino romano, grated
– 1.5 oz parmigiano reggiano, grated
– 2 tbsp black peppercorns
– Fresh ground black pepper
1. Toast the peppercorns in a dry pan for a few minutes over low-medium heat, until fragrant. Crack them (mortar and pestle or however you want)
2. Cook the pasta in a relatively small amount of water for recommended time
3. Take a second pan, like a large-ish frying pan, and add the peppercorns. Add about half a cup of starchy pasta water to the pan. Do not put the pan on heat.
4. Mix the cheeses and divide into two bowls. In one bowl, add a quarter cup or so of starchy pasta water. Mix until a paste forms.
5. Use tongs to move the pasta from the water to the pan with the water and peppercorns. Toss and stir.
5. Add the cheese paste to the pasta. Mix well until the cheese paste becomes a thin sauce by mixing with the water in the pan.
6. Add the other bit of your cheese bit by bit, mixing, until it’s thick and creamy. If you go too far, add a bit more pasta water.
7. Serve. Grind fresh black pepper on top for extra pepper.
**Spaghetti with meat sauce**
This recipe is basically my mom’s, but evolved over my adult life so far. It’s pretty odd, is what I’m saying. I’ve never seen anyone else make spaghetti this way, and I probably mostly like it because of nostalgia and because it was my favorite dish growing up, but I’ve also served it to quite a few people and people usually really like my spaghetti. So even if it’s probably not ideal, it’s at least *fine*. Personally, I think it’s amazing, but maybe I can’t tell because I grew up loving it so much.
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– 3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
– 1/2 onion, chopped
– 16 oz beef, 90/10 if you don’t want to drain it
– 8 oz can tomato paste
– water
– 1-2 tsp kosher salt
– ground black pepper
– 0.5-1 tbsp chili powder
– 1 tsp garlic powder
– 0.5 tsp onion powder
– 1 tsp dried oregano
– 0.5-1 tsp dried basil
– 1-1.5 tsp dried parsley
– 1/2 tbsp sugar
– 1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar
– 0.25 tsp fish sauce
– 1 tbsp fresh grated parmesan (or similar) cheese
– 16 oz spaghetti
– 1 tbsp olive oil
Like I said, weird recipe. It just uses tomato paste for the tomatoes. I don’t know why my mom did that, but it’s what I grew up with, and I really like this recipe. It’s actually changed quite a bit from what she made, but the base is the same.
1. Saute the garlic and onion in olive oil for a couple of minutes, until it’s not entirely raw.
2. Add the ground meat. Salt and pepper. Cook until not pink, then continue cooking until the meat starts to caramelize just slightly. If you’re using 85/15 or 80/20, you’ll want to drain the fat at this point.
3. Add the can of tomato paste. Stir it up well with the meat, and continue cooking while stirring over medium-low heat until the paste begins to sizzle and take on just a little color.
4. Add a can worth of water and stir until well combined. Add another 2 cans of water or so and stir until you have a relatively thin sauce; thinner than you want the sauce to end up, but not like tomato soup or something. Salt and pepper at this point.
5. Add the spices and herbs. I add the chili powder first, and give it a little longer, because I want the edges to be blunted down from it. I’m guessing a bit on the amounts here, because I judge this by how much it looks like when sprinkled on top. It *should not* be enough chili powder to taste like chili; just enough to give the sauce some . . . power. Add the sugar too, if you want. I often don’t, but I think a slight bit of sweetness is a just barely better.
6. Add the balsamic vinegar and a few drops of fish sauce. If youv’e got some fresh grated parmesan, that’s also really good in there. Not a lot, it shouldn’t taste cheesy. Just some to give it a little extra depth and that “oomph” flavor.
7. Stir and cook for awhile on low. You don’t want it to be bubbling, just steaming. Over the course of the next 20-40 minutes, it’ll thicken up to the point where it’s a little thicker than you want the sauce to be. That’s good.
8. Around 20 minutes in, cook your pasta in salted water for however long it says on the package.
9. When the pasta is almost done, your sauce will probably be a little too thick. Add a half ladle or so of the pasta water and stir that in. If still too thick, add another. Let the sauce bubble slightly at this point. I don’t know for sure if this really ‘activates’ the starch or whatever, but it seems like I get better results this way.
10. Taste and test for salt again.
11. Plate the spaghetti and ladle your sauce on top. I know, I know. I should finish the pasta *in* the sauce. And for everything except “the spaghetti I grew up with” I do.
12. Garnish with fresh parsley and parmesan cheese. Since I had real parmigiano reggiano from my earlier recipe, I used that, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t often use the green can stuff.
The bucatinis look amazing, well done