Spaghetti with Pecorino Cheese and Ground Black Pepper

Spaghetti cacio e pepe

The origins of this classic dish are disputed. It is popularly considered of Roman origin but both the Sicilians and the Neapolitans claim that it was in fact invented either on the streets of Palermo or Naples. There may be some truth in the claims. The mangiamaccheroni of Naples would have eaten their pasta simply, straight from the cauldron and certainly without the addition of tomato sauce (which came later). Pecorino cheese was common to the city and it may well have been added to the pasta as a dressing for flavour, as might pepper.

Wherever it came from, this dish is as simple as dried pasta gets (so easy, in fact, it can hardly be called a recipe!). There are variations on the dish. Some advocate not using any extra virgin olive oil. Others suggest using an equal mix of pecorino cheese and parmesan. In the north of Italy a similar dish is made using butter instead of oil and just parmesan cheese. Personally I prefer the following recipe but that’s just a question of taste.

Serves 4

Preparation time:  5 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

320g spaghetti

250g semi-mature pecorino cheese, grated

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until just al dente. Once the pasta is cooked, drain, reserving a small amount (a few tablespoons) of the cooking water. Place the pasta back in the pot and add the water, the olive oil, the cheese and plenty of black pepper. Toss well and serve immediately (for a truly authentic Neapolitan experience, try eating with your hands!).

Left over bread cake - Torta di pane avanzato

Italians are big sticklers for never throwing away leftovers and this is one of many ways to use up leftover bread and anything lying around the cupboard. I bake this cake whenever I get an urge for something sweet on a saturday afternoon and it's also a great way to bring some order to the kitchen storecupboard. I hate all those half empty bags sitting around!

For this recipe you will need:
250g left over bread
about 750ml whole milk
2 free-range eggs
100g caster sugar
a handful of almonds
a handful of chocolate drops
a handful of dried cranberries



Rip up the bread into chunks and place it into a bowl.  Pour over the milk and allow to soak for 30 minutes, stirring the bread around from time to time.  You may need a little more milk if the bread is particularly dry.





Once the bread has absorbed all the milk, use your hands or a spoon to mash the bread and milk together.  Next, lightly beat the the eggs and add these to the bread mix.

Next comes the fun part.  Add all the other ingredients and in doing so, bring some order to your storecupboard.  I used open packets of almonds, chocolate drops and dried carnberries, but there are any number of ingredients you could use.  Substitute the cranberries for dried fruits such raisins or chopped apricots.  Add a few tablespoons of cocoa powder to make a chocolate version.  Use different nuts...you get the idea.




Pour the batter into a lined baking tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC for 40-45 minutes.  You'll know when the cake is done as it will brown and puff up.  Remove from the oven and serve warm with plenty of pouring cream. Alternatively, allow to cool and serve in slices.