nss G-Club x Alessandro Poggi: the perfect cacio&pepe

We all know how cooking, especially in the Italian tradition, is a fundamental part of our daily lives and helps us to distract ourselves, to relax, and to express our creativity. In these long days, spending some time cooking is wellness for our mind, and eating a good food can only give us positive vibes.

And that's why nss G-Club and Alessandro Poggi have joined forces to create mini-tutorials with simple and delicious recipes of our tradition, in a new exclusive format "nss G-Club #cucinaconpoggy".

Alessandro defines himself as a "punk chef" and in his recipes he combines typical Roman cuisine and Japanese techniques, blending different traditions with perfect harmony. On his Instagram page you will find a mix of cuisine and art, between one dish and another Alessandro in fact collects Pop culture items. All this happens at The Pink Mill, an incredibly original space: art gallery and restaurant, it hosts numerous works of art among, where the Hello Kitty toys created by contemporary artists stand out, and a super cool kitchen in shades of pink and black.

For the first cooking tutorial, we decided to cook pasta cacio&pepe, a recipe that requires a few simple steps but for which Alessandro's precious advice is needed. Little secrets that make the dish one of the symbols of the Roman cuisine.

You will find below the mini videos with the creation of the dish, to be followed step by step. We also added the ingredients that will be used to replicate the recipe, and some tips to make sure you don't miss any steps. Stay tuned for the next tutorial, that will be live on Saturday on nss G-Club!

 

STEP 1-2

Grate the Pecorino cheese, better not to use the packaged one, in fact if grated at the moment it remains tastier and fresher. The best Pecorino is the Roman one.
Cook pasta very "al dente"; better not to add salt to the cooking water because the Pecorino is already very savory. At the same time, roast the pepper for 3 minutes over a very high heat.

 

STEP 3-4

Start preparing the cream in a bowl, putting the grated Pecorino cheese. Crush the pepper. It is always better to have peppercorns, to be toasted and crushed at the moment.
Add the crushed pepper to the Pecorino cheese in the bowl and mix.

 

STEP 5-6

When pasta is almost ready, add a little bit of cooking water in the bowl to make the cream. The water must be taken at the end of cooking so there is more starch and the cream obtains a better texture. Then drain the pasta "al dente" and add it to the bowl together with the cream.

 

STEP 7-8

Add a little bit more of Pecorino cheese to find the perfect texture for the cream, and mix again. And then, ready to serve!

 

STEP 9

Add to the pasta in the plate the remaining sauce, add a bit of pepper to taste, et voilà!

 

Special tips by Alessandro: 
Pecorino (preferably Roman) should be grated very finely, and at the moment of cooking, to maintain flavor and freshness.
Better not to add salt to the cooking water. Pasta should be very "al dente". 
It's better to use peppercorns to be crushed at the moment, to preserve their smell and taste.