cacio e pepe primavera

AKA a fabulous 20-minute spring pasta

Click here for the WTC recipe index, and scroll to the very bottom of this newsletter for a handy printer-friendly PDF of this pasta.

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Happy Mother’s Day to all the mamas, hopeful mamas, and mama figures out there.

If you are being celebrated today and would like to set your partner up for success — might I suggest forwarding them this email and asking them to cook it for you for dinner tonight? It is easy enough for even the most novice cook to succeed at without asking you 10 million questions!

Two weeks ago I read you all the riot act about the importance of using good Parm. We are a good Parm community now. No cheap Parm in this house.

That’s how I know that we’re now ready for Cacio e Pepe.

Cacio e Pepe is actually the ultimate meal to cook when you don’t feel like cooking. It takes about 20 minutes and has only a few ingredients. It’s a classic Italian dish and — at its core — is just cooked pasta tossed with good Parm and lots of black pepper. It’s the quintessential simple, perfect food. We’re just bulking it up a bit by adding peas, asparagus, and lemon to the mix. They make this a true one-pot meal that covers all our nutritional bases — and packs lots of delicious spring flavor!

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cacio e poo poo

Can you tell I’m a toddler mom? Anyhoo, there are two ways that one can F up this Cacio e Pepe and I’m not going to let you do either.

• Number 1: Using store-bought grated cheese. It has anti-caking agents in it to keep it from clumping together in the container, and those agents will keep your sauce from melting into a perfect, smooth sauce. You must grate the cheese yourself.

• Number 2: Rinsing your pasta. This is a cardinal pasta sin. Never rinse your pasta! Never toss it with olive oil! I do not care if it’s sticking together — it will un-stick when it’s time to toss it with the sauce. When you rinse your pasta you’re washing off all of the starch. Starch is what makes the sauce cling to the noodles rather than slide right off into a watery mess. We love starch!

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but grating this much cheese will give me carpal tunnel!

Try this: Break it up into chunks. Throw the chunks into the blender. Blend on high until powdery and perfectly grated. Takes less than 1 minute. You and your wrists can thank me after you try this amazing trick for the first time.

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cacio e pepe primavera

Serves 4 to 6