While we’re all practising social distancing, we’ve asked top chefs from our favourite restaurants to submit their best recipes so that you can recreate them at home. Each week, we’ll bring you a brand new recipe. From perfect pasta to delicious cakes, here’s what to cook this week.
London’s beloved Italian restaurant of the moment serves fresh, hand-rolled pasta with simple sauces packed with flavour. Here chef and Padella co-founder Tim Siadatan lets us in on the restaurant’s most-coveted dish, which is surprisingly simple to make.
How to make Padella’s pici cacio e pepe at home
Serves 4
‘Cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper) is a classic dish from Rome and one of our most popular plates when it’s on the menu. Romans use pecorino, but we prefer a high-quality aged Parmesan because it provides more depth of flavour. But if you want to keep it traditional, swap the cheese in the ingredient list below.’ Tim Siadatan
Ingredients for the pici
375g white bread flour
180ml water
A tablespoon of olive oil
A pinch of fine sea salt
Method
Add the flour to a mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Mix the water, olive oil and salt together and pour into the well. Incorporate the flour into the mixture until a dough starts to take shape. Once it forms, take the dough out, transfer to a clean table and knead until it becomes smooth. With a rolling pin, shape it into a rectangle about 2cm thick, wrap in cling film and leave to rest in a cool place for at least 30 minutes.
To make the pici, cut the dough into 15g strips (weigh one to check and then use it as a guide) and keep covered with a damp tea towel. On a dry, clean work surface – stainless steel or a large wooden chopping board; you don’t want something too smooth as a little bit of friction is important – start rolling the strip with both palms, applying pressure evenly and pushing outwards, until you have a noodle the same thickness as a pen. They’re basically wriggly worms. Repeat until all the dough is used up. Cook straight away or, if making in advance, store lengthways on a heavily floured tray (they stick together) covered with cling film and refrigerate for no more than 24 hours.
Ingredients for the cacio e pepe
A batch of pici dough
160g unsalted butter
100g Parmesan, finely grated
One tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper
A teaspoon of lemon juice
Method
In a large saucepan, bring the water to the boil and season with salt to resemble milt seawater. Drop in the pici and cook for five to six minutes. Meanwhile, add the butter, black pepper, lemon juice and a splash of pici water to a saucepan on a medium heat and then turn down to a low heat until they combine properly.
When the pici is cooked, remove it from the water and add to the saucepan with the butter and pepper. Keep the pasta water. Add the Parmesan, but do not stir. Leave it to sit and melt from the residual heat of the pan – this prevents it from turning into chewy little cheese balls. Once melted, stir the pasta and sauce together to incorporate. Season with sea salt and serve immediately.
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