Pumpkin Cacio e Pepe
This pumpkin cacio e pepe sauce is made with real pumpkin puree, fresh pecorino cheese, and freshly ground black pepper
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp Butter
- 1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree
- 8 oz Pecorino Cheese freshly grated
- a pinch Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper freshly ground
- 8 oz Spaghetti boiled
- salt for the pasta water
- 2 cups Reserved Pasta Water
Instructions
- Start boiling the pasta about 15 minutes before you will make your sauce. Make sure to salt the water as you boil and save 2 cups of your pasta water to use in your sauce. The starch from this water is really important to make this sauce stick to the pasta.
- In a large pan, heat 5 tbsp of butter. Once it starts to melt, continue to heat it on medium heat stirring continuously. You want your butter to start to brown before moving to the next step.
- Add in your pumpkin puree, nutmeg, and black pepper. Mix
- Add in 1 cup of your reserved pasta water, and mix so that the pumpkin is completely mixed into the water. You may not need the other cup of water, but keep it on hand just in case.
- Add your pecorino cheese, a little at a time, stirring continuously as you add the cheese. Pecorino has a higher melting point than some other cheese, so make sure you are mixing using a silicone spatula, mix, and bring up the heat until you start to see it boil. Then lower the heat slightly and continue mixing. Once all the cheese has melted evenly into the liquid, you can add in your drained pasta. You can add a bit more pasta water to thin out the sauce if you would like.
- Serve immediately with the additional fresh pecorino on top.
Notes
There is a lot of mixing involved here, and I prefer to use a silicone spatula for this so that the cheese does not stick.