Miso e Cacio e Pepe

Circling back to September’s Cookbook Club selection for this one. I knew I wanted to make this as soon as we opened the book, but just hadn’t gotten to it yet. I’m glad we finally did! This was easy to bring together and used ingredients that we already had on hand. (Although we may keep an unusual variety of Asian noodles in our pantry and cheeses in the fridge as compared to the average household. Worked out perfectly for this recipe though!) In our adaptation of her recipe here, we altered the sauce to noodle ratio fairly significantly – making this version VERY rich and decadent. Decadent and UMAMI!

Miso e Cacio e Pepe

(Adapted from To Asia with Love, by Hetty McKinnon)

Ingredients: 

• 12 oz udon noodles
• Salt & pepper
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp white miso
• 2 tbsp dry white wine
• 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
• 2 oz pecorino, finely shredded
• 3 oz Parmesan, finely shredded

Instructions:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a roaring boil while preparing the sauce.
2. In a large pan, melt 6 tbsp of butter over low heat. Season with 30 turns of fresh ground black pepper and a pinch of salt. Swirl occasionally and cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Then add the miso and stir to incorporate in the butter. After a minute or so, add the wine. Continue to stir to combine all of the ingredients into a smooth sauce.
4. Once pasta water is boiling, add the noodles. Stir to separate the noodles. Cook for just 2-4 minutes until al dente. Then drain, reserving > 1/2 cup of water, and immediately rinse the noodles with cold water.
5. Add the noodles and 1/2 cup pasta water to the pan and stir to combine and coat the pasta thoroughly with the pan sauce. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of butter and start adding the cheese by the handful. Stir continuously until all of the cheese is incorporated, save a few sprinkles for serving. Add additional pasta water as needed if the sauce gets clumpy.
6. Taste and add additional salt if needed. Serve with additional pepper if desired and a sprinkle of cheese.

Serving Size 4