Let’s Make Lemon Cacio E Pepe
It’s no secret that I am obsessed with noodles. I like hard noodles, crispy noodles, saucey noodles, creamy noodles, meaty noodles and limp noodles. So let’s make noodles that are as CREAMY, ZESTY, and SAUCY as my BUSSY
Honestly, this dish is a like a zestier and more sophisticated upgrade to Alfredo. I know that is sorta blasphemous, but it’s the truth. The tempering of the black pepper within the butter takes the sauce to a whole new level. Not even including the lemon zest, which gives it a whole new fresh dimension. This dish is totally the thing to bring to a date in order to impress someone…..as long as they aren’t lactose intolerant. DON”T DO WHAT I DID.
The lemon zest is totally optional, but I would choose to include cause it brings a lighter bite to the dish that black peppercorn would otherwise do. Tempering of the black peppercorn is a must as well. Tempering is just the process from, that is popular within Indian cuisine, where you essentially steep or fry the spices in oil to infuse the oil with spicy flavor. The oil also brings out and unlocks lipid soluble compounds in spices, which is why it is quite a clever trick.
Let’s Get Cooking (In Depth Recipe Below Recipe Card)
Lemon Cacio E Pepe
Ingredients
- 8 oz Spaghetti
- ½ Stick Butter (4 Tbsp)
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 oz Parmesan (Grate more for topping)
- 2 tsp 1 tbsp Black Pepper ((Coarsely ground, save some for garnish))
- ½ Tsp Lemon Zest (About Half a Lemon, Optional)
- 1- 1½ C Pasta Water (Depends on how much water is needed)
- Salt (to taste)
Instructions
- In boiled UNSALTED water, boil your pasta until al dente or desired consistency, this may take 8 to 10 minutes. Continue on to the next steps while pasta is boiling. Reserve about 1C to 1½ C of Pasta Water and let the Pasta Water sit to cool down after the pasta is done cooking.
- In a high heat pan/pot, melt the Butter until hot and little wisps of smoke arise, add in the Black Pepper to toast, and immediately turn off the heat. Let the Black Pepper temper for at least 5 minutes. This step is called tempering the spices and will extract the flavor of the Black Pepper into the Butter.
- Add in the pasta, half of the Parmesan, and half of the Pasta Water into the vessel with the black pepper oil on low heat. Stir vigorously to ensure that the Parmesan melts evenly and completely.
- Add the rest of the Parmesan, Lemon Zest, and Salt if needed. Add more Pasta Water if needed to thin out the sauce and make it saucier.
Notes
1.In boiled UNSALTED water, boil your pasta until al dente or desired consistency, this may take 8 to 10 minutes. Continue on to the next steps while pasta is boiling. Reserve about 1C to 1½ C of Pasta Water and let the Pasta Water sit to cool down after the pasta is done cooking. Letting the pasta water cool down a little bit before adding it into the Pasta and Parmesan will ensure that the cheese melts evenly and will prevent clumping of cheese.
Normally you would try to get the pasta water as SALTY as the SEA or as ME, but I personally avoided doing such a technique as the parmesan that was gonna be added is already quite salty by itself. If you do salt your pasta water like a proper professional, just be cautious when adding more pasta water
2.In a high heat pan/pot, melt the Butter until hot and little wisps of smoke arise, add in the Black Pepper to toast, and immediately turn off the heat. Let the Black Pepper temper for at least 5 minutes. This step is called tempering the spices and will extract the flavor of the Black Pepper into the Butter.
Turn off the heat of the pan after you add in the Black Peppercorn to the Butter. If you keep the heat on, you have a higher chance of burning your Oil infusion, which could cause it to be quite bitter.The Butter and Pepper Mixture will fizzle and foam when added together initially, but that should subside within a few minutes. You are done tempering the spices when the oil becomes super aromatic. If you are unsure, it’s better to under temper than over temper. To check if the mixture is done tempering, the Peppercorns should be golden, as the oil in general.
3.Add in the pasta, half of the Parmesan, and half of the Pasta Water into the vessel with the black pepper oil on low heat. Stir vigorously to ensure that the Parmesan melts evenly and completely.
Adding the Parmesan in two parts helps prevent clumping of the cheese.If the parmesan cheese does clump together, keep on mixing and turn off the heat. This will ensure that the cheese is melting evenly
4.Add the rest of the Parmesan, Lemon Zest, and Salt if needed. Add more Pasta Water if needed to thin out the sauce and make it saucier. Be careful about adding too much Pasta Water as that can make the sauce more runny as well as thick in some cases. If you did add too. much Pasta Water, just keep the pot on low heat and stir delicately.
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