On chilly winter nights when you want to stay in for a date or make something warm and cozy but still want a restaurant-quality dish, Chef Gloria Kovacek’s Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe is an easy and delicious dish to make while still getting the reaction of a *chef’s kiss*.
Ingredients:
Salt
- 6 oz. fresh pasta (spaghetti).
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed, divided.
- 1 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper.
- ¾ cup finely grated Grana Padano or Parmesan.
- ⅓ cup finely grated Pecorino.
- 1 whole burrata.
- 1 tsp. olive oil.
- A small handful of arugula.
Preparation:
Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a 5-qt. pot.
Season with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until about 2 minutes before tender.
Drain, reserving ¾ cup pasta cooking water.
Meanwhile, melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a Dutch oven or other large pot or skillet over medium heat.
Add pepper and cook, swirling pan, until toasted, about 1 minute.
Add ½ cup reserved pasta water to the skillet and bring to a simmer.
Add pasta and remaining butter.
Reduce heat to low and add Grana Padano, stirring and tossing with tongs until melted.
Remove pan from heat; add Pecorino, stirring and tossing until cheese melts, the sauce coats the pasta, and pasta is al dente. (Add more pasta water if the sauce seems dry.)
Transfer pasta to warm bowls.
To add a twist on traditional Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe, Chef Tomo adds a whole burrata drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkled black salt and a small handful of arugula. Now your Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe is ready to serve.
About Pizza e Pazzi:
Chef Gloria Kovacek is the owner and chef of Pizza e Pazzi, an authentic Neapolitan restaurant in up-town Toronto that is one of the very few restaurants in Toronto certified by Vera Pizza Napoletana, the True Neapolitan Pizza Association from Naples.
Pizza e Pazzi’s three-generation family kitchen known for their dedication to authentic Neapolitan cuisine as all of Pizza e Pazzi’s ingredients, from their sauces and dressings to their pasta and dough are made fresh from scratch in-house by the family’s Nona, with only the finest ingredients all sourced directly from Italy.
The name Pizza e Pazzi translates to ‘pizza and the crazies’, if guests book a reservation and say ‘crazyforpazzi’ when they arrive at the restaurant, they will receive a small tasty surprise.
