Chickpea Miso Cacio e Pepe

This is the perfect midnight snack… or a light meal with a big salad if you’re being good.

It is a very simple ingredient list, but that can be deceptive. The trick with simple dishes like this, is to pay attention to the details. Good ingredients paired with good technique can elevate something simple to the finest of culinary pleasures, but ignore those things and you just have something pretty ordinary.

Nonna’s may be turning in their graves, but a big dollop of miso to this otherwise simple classic Roman dish of spaghetti in a cheese & pepper sauce adds a huge boost of umami. No one would ever pick it is miso if you don’t tell them, they’ll just think you’re a genius.

Ingredients Serves a ravenous 1 or a big side dish for 2

• 1/2 a pack of medium spaghetti (look at the texture of the pasta in the pack, it should have some roughness to it for the sauce to cling to)

• A cup or so of very finely grated Pecorino Romano (You can sub for grano padano or reggiano, or a mix, but we really love the funk of straight up sheep cheese)

• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1.5 TBS Chickpea Miso

• 2 TBSP of Butter

• 1 TBSP of Olive oil

• Big pinch of Salt for the pasta water

Method:

1. Fill a large saucepan with enough water to cover your pasta, but not too much more. Limiting the amount of water concentrates the starch in the pasta water and will allow us to create a smooth emulsified sauce. Add Salt to the water and bring to boil over high heat

2. Meanwhile place a large skillet over medium-low heat, add olive oil and around a TSP of cracked black pepper - Let it sizzle for around 1 minute and remove from heat

3. Once your pot has reached boiling, add your pasta and cook until al dente - usually a minute or two less than the packet suggests. Stir every now and again to prevent sticking

4. When the pasta is cooked, add butter, miso and 2 TBSP of pasta water to the skillet, stir them in and place back over a medium heat

5. Add your pasta to the skillet using tongs and shaking off most of the cooking water but not all. Add the cheese and combine until he cheese is melted and the sauce is evenly heated

6. Add more pasta water to adjust sauce consistency if necessary, it should cling lusciously to the strands of pasta, neither drowning them in a soupy sauce or being dry - aim for decadence

7. Serve with a sprinkle more cheese & more cracked black pepper

   Final Tip: Once you get used to them, chopsticks are infinitely superior for eating all kinds of long noodles