Make the Perfect Cacio E Pepe With a Stick Blender
If I only had one electric kitchen gadget, it would be a hand blender . Mine sees almost constant use, quickly sorting out everything from mayonnaise to lemon curd ; he never met a lump that could not be smoothed out. However, I would never have thought that this reliable machine would permanently solve my cacio e pepe problems .
I am a confident and experienced chef, but the subcategory of Italian pasta dishes requiring hard cheese and pasta emulsion with water has always eluded me. Cacio e pepe is my white whale with pepper dots : I am absolute trash for pecorino romano, but it resists emulsification unlike parmesan. Until recently, I thought I was doomed to a lifetime of low-quality, lumpy noodles, but the incomparable Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen saved me. As she learned from Italian chef Flavio de Mayo through Elizabeth Minchilli , the secret to not spoiling the cacio e pepe is to mix the cheese with a little cold water to make a pasta. Here’s how to do it.
Pick your favorite cacio e pepe recipe ; this will work with any of them. While you wait for the water to boil – well salted , of course – measure the cheese into a container where you can place the head of the hand blender. Add plenty of black pepper and one to two tablespoons of cold water, place in a blender and stir until a thick, smooth paste forms. (You can also do this in a food processor or blender.) For every ounce of cheese, you can add up to a tablespoon of cold water, so add more if needed.
Prepare the pasta as directed, reserve a glass of cooking water before draining. Transfer the pasta immediately to a large bowl and add most of the cheese pasta. Pour in some pasta water and stir the noodles vigorously, adding more cheese paste and / or cooking water as needed, until you have a thick, smooth, glossy sauce. Serve immediately.
The possibilities here are only limited by your imagination and your appetite for cheese carbs. I see no reason this method won’t work with, say, a bunch of egg yolks and lard thrown in for carbonara, or even cheddar and cheese for the purest and cheesiest mac and cheese of all time. The blender trick is powerful knowledge; treat it responsibly.