By David Cohen
I know many of you have a cabinet full of pasta because there’s hardly any left at the market. So a pasta recipe seems appropriate this week. Cacio e pepe is one of my favorites, a perfectly simple Roman dish whose main ingredients are spaghetti, pecorino and black pepper. I added some sauteed mushrooms to make it more of a one-dish meal. Sauteed spinach would work too.
Thinly slice and saute some mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil until soft, add salt and pepper and then set aside. Boil a pound of spaghetti until al dente making sure to save a cup of the pasta water just before draining.
Drain the noodles and slide them back into the pot. Stir in a tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper, the reserved pasta water and 1 ½ cups of parmesan, pecorino or a combination of both. Mix together until the pasta is completely coated, stir in the mushrooms and then salt to taste and serve immediately.