Cacio e Pepe pasta is one of my favorite dishes! There are MANY ideas on how to create this dish, but here we take a note from Joshua McFadden and we make it easy…by creating a compound butter. Making the butter and having it on hand ahead of time ensures you can throw this together in a flash, which is always perfect when hosting a dinner party!

Adapted slightly from Six Seasons Cookbook @jj__mc

This recipe makes 1.5 cups of compound butter, enough for two pounds of pasta. You can easily freeze extra compound butter for later use!

1/2 pound or two sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
3/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3/4 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
Kosher salt to taste…we used 1 tablespoon

To make the compound butter:

Toast peppercorns in a small skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan constantly just until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Let cool completely. Use a mortar and pestle or a meat mallet to grind and smash the peppercorns. You want uneven consistency, from fine to coarse.

Fold the pepper and both cheeses into the butter with a rubber spatula. Transfer into an airtight container. Chill the butter for at least 1 hour to firm it up and let the flavors marry. You can then roll the butter in parchment paper into a log and wrap tightly to freeze. Slice off a piece whenever your heart desires! Toss with pasta, top a steak, fold into an omelet. The possibilities are endless!

To make the pasta:

Cook 1 lb. Of pasta according to package instructions for al dente. Use tongs to transfer pasta into a large pan/skillet, reserving the pasta water.

Add 3/4 cup room temperature cacio e pepe butter to the pasta while it’s still hot tossing well to coat. Slowly add in a tablespoon at a time of the reserved pasta water to create a cloaking, creamy sauce. Taste and adjust with more salt as needed. Transfer to serving dish and top with grated parm or pecorino!