Cacio e Pepe Garganelli

Weekdays are a blur. Between commuting to the studio, daycare drop-offs, and the busyness of running a small business, there's not much time for homemade recipes. Weekends however, are filled with family time and slowing down to cook our favorite family recipes while chasing Florence around the yard. Candidly, most recipes are beloved Italian recipes like Cacio e Pepe, pizzas topped with prosciutto and olives, and pasta slathered with garden herb pesto. Joe always carve out time for cooking no matter how crazy life gets.

THE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

·    1 ½ Cups Tipo 00 Flour
·    ½ Cup Semolina Flour
·    1 tsp salt
·    4 eggs
·    1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
·    2 Teaspoons Peppercorn
·    2 cups grated Pecorino
·    2 Tablespoons Butter

INSTRUCTIONS

Whisk flours and salt in a medium bowl
Pour out the flour onto your work surface and make a well
Add the eggs and olive oil to the flour and begin to mix with a fork until enough of the flour has combined enough to bring the dough together
Once the dough has formed, knead for at least 8 minutes adding more flour if it begins to stick
Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes
Roll out the pasta to about 1 mm in thickness and cut into 1-inch squares
Rap the pasta squares around a small dowel about the size of a pencil and roll onto a grooved Gnocchi board or patterned Garganelli board
Once the pasta is made add to a pot of boiling water and cook until just before al dente.
While the pasta is boiling toast the whole black peppercorns in a large pan on medium until you hear a popping sound.
Remove the pepper and grind in a pepper mill or spice grinder and add the pepper back to the large pan with 1 tablespoon of Butter
Reserve 1 cup of cooking water and add to the pan with the pepper.
Drain Pasta and add to the pan to continue cooking until the water has almost evaporated
Remove from heat and add the grated Pecorino and remaining butter and stir until the cheese is melted
Serve immediately

It comes as no surprise that Florence loves pasta. She’s grown up eating homemade noodles. On her first birthday, Joe and I built Florence her own Mercado (a traditional Italian neighborhood street market) with felt ravioli, oven-baked bread, and seasonal veggies. She certainly lives up to her name- learning how to roll pasta by hand. It's safe to assume she'll have a future in the arts. For now, she'll focus on the art of eating.