Cacio e Pepe

Yield:  4-6 servings

Time:

• 60 minutes

Difficulty:

• Medium

Ingredients

• 200 g finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for dusting completed dish
• 100 g finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, plus more for finishing the dish
• 1 tsp cornstarch or sodium citrate
• 1½ cups warm water
• 1 lb tonnarelli or other long pasta like linguine or spaghetti
  

Instructions

 

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. (Do not add salt.)
2. Meanwhile, in a very large nonstick skillet or pot set over high heat, toast the peppercorns just until fragrant. Let cool, then grind or crush very coarsely. Reserve 1 teaspoon for serving.
3. If using cornstarch, toss with grated cheese.  If using sodium citrate, dissolve in warm water.
4. In the same skillet or pot, combine the cheeses and remaining pepper. Add water, and whisk lightly to make a thick pecorino cream.
5. Add the pasta to the boiling water and stir. Keep the heat very high until the water returns to a boil, then stir again and adjust the heat as needed to keep the water bubbling. Set a timer for 8 minutes.
6. Set the pecorino cream over very low heat. When the timer goes off, scoop out about ½ cup of the pasta cooking water and set aside. Taste the pasta and continue cooking until the pasta is done to your liking. Drain pasta very well (this is important, as adding too much hot water can cause the cheese to clump) and add to the pecorino cream.
7. Use tongs or two forks to stir, turn and toss the pasta in the sauce over low heat until the cheese melts and the sauce becomes sticky. Don’t add any water yet, just keep tossing. To test, squeeze a drop of sauce between your thumb and finger. When the sauce is thick and forms strings like glue, it is ready. If it starts to dry out, add cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and toss thoroughly before adding more.
8. Divide among 4 bowls, twisting the pasta into a nest, if desired. Dust with additional pecorino and the reserved pepper. Serve immediately.

Notes:

Variations:

Source: New York Times.  

Buttermilk pancakes

Yield:

• 12 7-inch pancakes

Time:

• 30 minutes

Difficulty:

• Easy

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 ¼ cups buttermilk¹ (530ml)
• 2 large eggs lightly beaten, room temperature preferred
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled (57g)
  

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, until well-combined.  
2. In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together buttermilk,, eggs, and vanilla extract.  
3. Take your melted butter and slowly drizzle it into your wet ingredients while whisking, stirring until well-combined (the butter may separate and curdle if your other ingredients are cold, this is OK, just whisk to combine).  
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and use a wooden spoon to stir until just combined — do not overmix your pancake batter or your pancakes will be flat.  Use a light hand when stirring, and a few flour streaks in the batter are fine.
5. Spray a non-stick skillet with cooking spray or lightly brush with canola oil and place on burner on medium-low heat.  
6. Allow skillet to preheat before adding batter (about 5 minutes, it's good for your pancake batter to sit several minutes as well, which is why you prepared that before preheating your pan), and once skillet is heated (I usually test this by hovering my hand several inches above the pan and making sure I can feel the heat radiating from it) scoop pancake batter into pan (I use about ½-⅔ cup of batter per pancake).  
7. Allow pancake to cook until edges begin to appear cooked and bubbles in batter begin to burst.  Using a pancake spatula, carefully flip pancake and continue to cook several more minutes until pancake is golden brown.  
8. Repeat until all batter is used — I recommend spraying or brushing the pan between each batch of pancakes.
9. Serve warm topped with salted butter and maple syrup! 
   

Notes:

Variations:

Source: https://sugarspunrun.com/buttermilk-pancakes/