Asparagus Cacio e Pepe

“アスパラガスのカチオ エ ぺぺ”

This is not authentic Cacio e pepe recipe; the Roman pasta simply yet so cleverly dressed with pecorino cheese and kick of black pepper. However, in this time of the year in England, the delightful asparagus is being abundant, I couldn’t resist to twist the Italian classic to enjoy the seasonal delight.

The authentic Cacio e pepe sauce calls for pecorino cheese, black pepper and adjust the consistency by adding pasta water. As I am not adding pasta for this recipe, I added a little bit of roux (mix of butter and flour) to substitute the starch from the pasta water which works as the binding agents of the sauce.

Ingredients for 4

Asparagus   400g

Butter   20g(2 blocks of 10g )

Flour   1/2tsp

Water   50ml

Pecorino cheese   40g (fleshly grated)

Black pepper   to taste (fleshly grounded)

Lemon   1/4

1. Remove the woody bottom part of the asparagus. Heat one block of 10g butter in a large pan and place the asparagus in bubbling butter. Season with a pinch of salt, cover, and cook over a medium heat until they are tender.

2. Meanwhile, prepare all the ingredients as the last step needs to be finished quickly.

3. When the asparagus a cooked tender, transfer them to a plate. Melt the other block of 10g butter in the same pan, add in the flour and cook over the medium heat for about 30 seconds. Add water and stair until smooth.

4. Turn off the heat, transfer back the asparagus in the pan, with its cooking juice, pecorino cheese and black pepper. Stair quickly to coat the asparagus with the cheese sauce. Squeeze the lemon and serve immediately while it’s hot.