Cacio e pepe with asparagus

  • Portion size: Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main
  • Hands-on time 20 min
  • Difficulty: easy

Cacio e pepe is one of the simplest – and tastiest – pasta dishes you can make. The original version is just three ingredients (cheese, pepper and pasta) but we’ve added asparagus for a seasonal twist.

If you like the look of this, how about our creamy broccoli and bacon spaghetti? 

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Ingredients

  • 200g spaghetti or pici pasta
  • 100g butter, cubed
  • 300g asparagus, trimmed
  • 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus extra to serve
  • 100g parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), freshly grated, plus extra to serve
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Method

  1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil over a medium heat. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the packet instructions or until it still has bite. Drain, reserving one mugful of the cooking liquid.
  2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large deep pan over a low-medium heat and add the asparagus. Cook gently for 2-3 minutes, then add 100ml of the reserved pasta cooking liquid and bring to the boil.
  3. Add the pepper, drained pasta and grated cheese to the pan. Stir well for a minute or so until the cheese melts and forms a rich sauce (add a little more pasta cooking liquid if the sauce is too thick).
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  5. Divide among warm bowls and serve straightaway, scattered with salt, extra black pepper and some more grated cheese.

Nutrition

  • 492kcals Calories
  • 29.2g (18g saturated) Fat
  • 17.4g Protein
  • 37.8g (2.7g sugars) Carbs
  • 4.2g Fibre
  • 0.9g Salt

For 4

Quick wins & tips

This is a take on the famed cacio e pepe pasta dish from Siena in Tuscany. Pici is a type of thick, hand-rolled pasta. You can buy pici pasta online from souschef.co.uk and amazon.co.uk (or make it fresh yourself).

Watch the recipe video…

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