Toasted Pepper Pasta
~ A recipe provided to me by John, one of my regular customers. He says he found this online at bonappetit.com
Serves two
Ingredients:
Salt
6 oz pasta of your choice (i.e. taglionlini, bucatini, linguini or spaghetti)
3 tsp unsalted butter, cubed and divided
Fresh cracked black pepper
3/3 cup finely grated Reggiano or Grana Padano Parmesan
1/3 cup finely grated pecorino
Preparation and cooking:
Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a 5 quart pot (so far this makes sense to me!)
Season water with salt and add pasta
Cook stirring occasionally until about 2 minutes before pasta is tender (so this is still slightly firm but won’t stick to the wall when thrown!)
Drain pasta reserving ¾ cup of the pasta water
Melt on medium heat two Tbsp of the butter in a large heavy skillet
Add approx 1 tsp cracked pepper and cook swirling pan until the pepper is toasted (about a minute)
Add ½ cup reserved pasta water and bring to a simmer
Add pasta and remaining butter
Reduce heat to low and add parmesan
Stir and toss with tongs until parmesan is melted
Remove pan from heat and add pecorino
Transfer to warm bowls or plates and serve.
Pairings:
A nice full bodied red would work well here!