Simple but not easy - cacio e pepe

Some good friends introduced us to the Roman dish - Cacio e Pepe (Cheese and pepper - in this case black pepper). It has very few ingredients, is simple to make but everything has to be just right. I made it this evening as a rehearsal for an event next weekend. Madame (who generally sneers at anything pasta) was blown away by this. So thank you Rocco and Judy.

Ingredients

2T kosher salt

6 oz bucatini - preferably extruded through bronze nozzles to get that slightly rough texture - ideal for holding sauce

1 1/2 cups Pecorino Romano - salty sheep's milk cheese

3 T butter (divided use)

1 t cracked black pepper

Method

Bring 1 gallon of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until just shy of al dente (this is what makes it simple but not easy). Meanwhile, melt 2 T of butter in a large skillet. Add the cracked black pepper and toast the pepper until you can just smell it. Again, simple but not easy.

Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water and drain the rest. Add the drained pasta to the butter/pepper skillet. Add all but a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, cook for a minute or so. Turn the heat down to low and add the cheese and remaining tablespoon of butter tossing quickly with tongs.

Serve in warmed bowls.

Poached egg ravioli

Madame was on a trip and whenever she is away, it seems that I dig into the egg files for another way of using them. This time was no exception. We had had New Year's Eve dinner at Boulevardier in Dallas where Madame had a raviolo filled with a poached egg. It was delicious, the yolk still just runny, but cooked, oozing over the besciamella. So, I thought to myself, how hard can this be? Answer - very hard! But so worth it.
The goal was to make some fresh pasta, roll it thinly, put an egg into one sheet, another sheet on top, seal it up and poach it. Piece of cake! NOT. However after several trials I found a workable solution.
First I tried poaching whole eggs, chilling them in an ice bath before making the ravioli. The result? Too much filling and not a great texture. Next, just separate the yolk, put that in the Ravioli and poach the ravioli for various amounts of time - finally settling for 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Once the ravioli had been figured out, it was time to decide how to serve it. I opted for a simple salad - greens from the garden, a few tomatoes, some kalamata olives and some crumbled frico (parmesan tuiles) left over from a different party.

Ingredients (Pasta)

100 gm (a little less than 4 oz) tipo 00 or all purpose flower

1 whole egg

a little salt

1 T good quality olive oil

1T water

Method (Pasta)

make a volcano with the flour and salt on the work surface. Break a whole egg into the crater. Pierce the yolk, and then stir incorporating a little flour from the edges. Once the mixture has become thick, add the oil, and stir some more. Add  the water (if necessary), turn the dough over and collect it into a ball. Ignore any bits that stick to the work surface. Knead for a few minutes - gentle kneading  - pressing with the heel of your hand, then turning a quarter turn and repeating. Wrap the dough tightly in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour - up to 24 hours.

Ingredients (Ravioli)

1 batch of pasta (above)

4 egg yolks (save whites for meringue or other uses)

Method (Ravioli)

Roll the pasta out very thinly indeed. It should make 2 strips 3 " wide and 3' long. On one strip place the egg yolks well spaced. Moisten the edges and the gaps in between the yolks before draping the second sheet. Press the second sheet to seal (where moistened). Make sure you get all the air out, and also make sure you use enough flour to prevent sticking. Crimp the rims of the ravioli and slide into simmering water for 3 minutes. At 3 minutes the pasta is cooked and the eggs are beginning to thicken.

Serve over a simple salad.