Cacio e Pepe

I must admit, I have no clue how to say the name of this dish and I can barely spell it.  It's a very simple dish that I would describe as Fettuccini Alfredo without cream.  It's hard to believe you can get such great flavors from simple ingredients but it's true.  This recipe was a huge hit and will become a regular addition at our house.  If you don't have egg noodles on hand, you can use fettuccini, linguini, or spaghetti noodles instead.  I paired this with a lighter version of Chicken Parmesan which proved to be a great combination.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

8 oz package egg noodles, such as Trader Joe's Pappardelle egg pasta

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 Tbsp. cracked and crushed black pepper (not ground)

½ cup Romano cheese, grated

Salt and pepper

Directions

Cook pasta according to the package directions, until al dente.  Drain, reserving ½ cup of the pasta cooking water.

Combine the butter with the pepper in a large skillet over over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the butter is melted and bubbling, about 1 minute. Add the reserved pasta cooking water and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and slowly sprinkle in half of the Romano cheese and whisk until smooth.  Ddd the pasta to the pan, increase the heat to medium and stir gently until a sauce forms and sticks to the pasta. Season with salt and more black pepper to taste.  Serve with remaining Romano cheese.