Asparagus Peas And Cucumber Cacio E Pepe Food

CACIO E PEPE WITH PEAS AND FAVAS

Steps:

• Bring a medium saucepot of salted water to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with water and ice and set a fine mesh strainer in the bowl. (Be sure to keep ice out of strainer.) Blanch peas for 30 seconds and use a slotted spoon to transfer peas to strainer in ice bath. Let sit for 5 minutes and pull up strainer to drain peas. Repeat process with fava beans, cooking for 1 minute. (You can use same pot of boiling water that you used for peas.) When fava beans have been blanched and cooled, slip off peels.
• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until 1 minute shy of al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.
• In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add pepper and sauté for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add 1/4 cup of the cooking water and the remaining butter to pan. Stir until butter is melted and sauce begins to thicken, about 30 seconds.
• Add cooked pasta, pecorino and Parmesan and toss until cheese melts, about 30 seconds. Add peas and fava beans. Toss very well to coat, adding more pasta water if pan seems dry. Season with salt to taste. To serve, sprinkle each portion with more pecorino and drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with chives.

ASPARAGUS, PEAS, AND CUCUMBER "CACIO E PEPE"

Steps:

• Boil water in a small pot and salt it heavily. Prepare an ice bath with a fine-mesh sieve set over it to contain your peas. Add peas to boiling water and boil until crisp-tender and bright green. Strain and transfer to ice bath. Trim ends off cucumbers and shave into long ribbons using a Y-peeler. Add to ice bath to crisp up.
• Preheat broiler, with a rack about 4 inches from heating element. Using Y-peeler, peel asparagus from root end to tip. When you get down to where you can't peel anymore, trim off ends and discard, and transfer peelings to a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle asparagus with a bit of oil and season with salt and lots of black pepper. Toss well to coat. Broil until just charred, about 4 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine lemon juice and oil. Grate garlic into mixture. Drain and pat dry cucumbers and add to bowl, along with arugula, broiled asparagus, and peas. Transfer to serving plates or a platter. Grate a fluffy cloud of both cheeses over the top and stir everything together before taking your first bite.

CACIO E PEPE WITH PEAS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs, adding the peas during the last 4 minutes of cooking. Reserve 1 3/4 cups cooking water, then drain.
• Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup of the reserved cooking water and 2 teaspoons pepper. Increase the heat to high and boil until the liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
• Add the pasta and peas to the skillet and simmer, tossing, until well coated. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with the parmesan, pecorino and parsley; toss until the cheese melts and the sauce is creamy, adding the remaining 3/4 cup cooking water as needed to loosen. Top each serving with more cheese.