Cacio e Pepe Pastina
I promise it’s Pasta
I’ve never had pasta this small, but it looks kinda fun
Time: 10 Minutes
Difficulty: 1/5
Ingredient Availability: 4/5
I’ve never made Cacio e Pepe before, but I know that it’s a very popular pasta dish. I chose this one because I though it’d pair nicely with the Broccoli & Farro Polpette I was making. I knew that it’d be pretty quick and easy, so it would also make sense along side a more complicated recipe.
Key Ingredients and Omissions:
I couldn’t find Pastina
I’m not expert on Italian food, but if I were to guess, the cheeses in this recipe are most important. It makes sense, as the the first word in this recipe’s name translates to cheese. I used the left over parmiagano reggiano from the broccoli & farro polpette for this recipe along with the mascarpone. I didn’t leave anything out of this recipe.
I wasn’t able to find pastina at my grocery store, so I substituted it for acini di pepe.
Tools:
Box Grater
Cooking Review:
Cooking: 10 minutes (not including the water coming to a boil)
The times in this recipe are very accurate. I cooked my pasta for 5 minutes before draining, catching about a third of a cup of water in the process. I then got the rest of the ingredients together and added them to the cooked pasta along with the pasta water. I returned the pot to the heat and stirred consistently for about 3 minutes. At this point, the pasta was still a little loose, but once I took it off the heat, it thickened up nicely. At that point, the dish was done.
Analysis:
Although I don’t remember having Cacio e Pepe specifically before, the flavor of this dish was very familiar. I think it kinda reminds me of a less savory carbonara flavor wise. The cheese flavors really come through, so I recommend using good quality ones. The texture was really nice, as well. It was pretty creamy and I enjoyed the new texture of the little acini di pepe. I feel like cacao e pepe is almost always made with long pastas, so I definitely like the creativity to use a different pasta here. For how simple this recipe is and how good it tastes, I’ll have to give it a 10/10. You can’t complain about a tasty pasta in 10 minutes. I can’t really knock it for my grocery store not having Pastina, either, since this pasta worked just as well.
