Easy Mac 'n' Cheese alla Romana
Back in my apartment in Williamsburg, I was starting to enjoy the company of my new roommate Lorenzo, a thirty-one-year-old architect from Rome. He was in New York for three months, ostensibly to learn English. Though I tried to engage him in English, awkward constructions tumbled from his mouth, landing in our kitchen with giant thuds. Clunkers. He, no doubt, felt self conscious about speaking in his non-native tongue. The fact that I speak Italian turned out to be a detriment to him, but it was an unexpected stroke of luck for me to be able to polish my language skills before heading to class in Italy.
Lorenzo took great delight in taunting me while I was in the kitchen, fumbling through his country's cuisine in the same way he fumbled through English, not entirely confident in what I was doing. Even though I'd grown up with a first generation Italian-American mother, American versions of Italian dishes are generally a bastardization of what you'd find in the mother country. He always gave me the "you'll-never-get-it-right" look when he found me tinkering at the stove. Our conversation was usually peppered with reciprocal jabs and insults. He encouraged me to become an expert house cleaner as "that's the only way you will find a husband," and liked to refer to me as an "old lady." I called him a neanderthal, and other pejoratives not fit for print here. Of course, we were teasing each other, but there was an uncomfortable grain of truth beneath the surface of our exchanges. Occasionally we would erupt in a good old-fashioned shouting match all'italiana. Secretly I enjoyed these "discussions." I love a man with an opinion, even if it's totally the wrong one.
One night, in a redeeming moment, Lorenzo showed me how to make the classic Roman dish, cacio e pepe. It's a lighter, and less labor-intensive version of macaroni and cheese: a great comfort food dish or late-night snack, perfect for those moments when you find there's not much in your refrigerator.
Cacio e Pepe
Ingredients:2 teaspoons fresh, coarsely ground pepper
1/2 pound long pasta, such as tonarelli, or spaghetti
1 cup pasta water
3/4 cup very finely grated Pecorino Romano (plus an additional 1/4 cup for topping)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1. Cook spaghetti in amply salted water in a 6 to 8-quart pot until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain.
2. Return the pasta to the pot, off of the heat. After about a minute, toss the pasta with the pepper, 3/4 cup of Pecorino Romano, olive oil, and a few tablespoons of the pasta water. If the pasta appears dry, add additional pasta water, as needed. (The above picture illustrates the consistency you should be aiming for.)
Serves: 2
Do you have your own variation on this classic dish? Share your comments and/or tips. --StellaCadente*
John on December 22, 2009 at 10:28 AM
I love this dish! I like to toss it with a handful of chopped fresh parsley if I have some around.
And this is way off piste, but one night I used some blue cheese and walnut oil in place of the romano and olive oil. I know, right? It was great!
Basically, any combination of pasta and cheese is just fine with me.
StellaCadente* on December 22, 2009 at 10:47 AM
Right, John? I feel like any cheese would work well...and it's so much lighter without adding a bunch of cream or milk.
John on December 22, 2009 at 11:33 AM
Yeah, totally. I think some lemon zest would rock this pretty hardcore too.
StellaCadente* on December 22, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Let me know if you try it with the lemon zest.
Tyrone on December 22, 2009 at 01:52 PM
Cooks Illustrated just had a Cacio i Pepe recipe. They say that the cream and the pasta water do something to the cheese to help it distribute and stay saucy rather than clumpy. I still had a few clumps with my pecorino romano, but I didn't use a very fine grater. Still quite tasty!
StellaCadente* on December 22, 2009 at 11:17 PM
Roman's wouldn't add cream...only to cover up a mistake! Did you let the pasta sit for a minute? And you need to toss it quite a bit...even with clumps, it is still yummy.
StellaCadente* on December 22, 2009 at 11:18 PM
I meant Romans...not Roman's.
StellaCadente* on December 22, 2009 at 11:19 PM
Roman's wouldn't add cream...only to cover up a mistake! Did you let the pasta sit for a minute? And you need to toss it quite a bit...even with clumps, it is still yummy.