Cacio e Pepe with Black Trumpet Tagliatelle

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Where you'd normally use tonnarelli I've gone and made a wild mushroom tagliatelle using black trumpet powder. Otherwise, I followed the rules of a traditional Cacio e Pepe - keeping it simple and limited to minimal ingredients; lots of cracked black pepper, sheep’s milk pecorino romano, a little olive oil, pasta water and some basil mostly just for show. When competing with lots of black pepper, the wild mushroom umami flavor is subtle but adds a nice layer to an otherwise simple simple dish. The color and texture of the noodles are beautiful and I’m looking forward to testing it out with other pasta dishes. A video of the whole process is below.

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Black Trumpet Tagliatelle

Ingredients

430 g 00 Flour

20 g dehydrated wild mushroom powder

250 g eggs (beaten before mixing)

*Portioned for 5 - 6 people

Directions

  1. Using a spice grinder (or similar) blitz your dried mushrooms into a very fine powder. Here I’m using black trumpets but you could easily substitute with any other edible wild mushroom.

  2. Mix together the mushroom powder and flour into a bowl, and dump out onto your clean work surface.

  3. Use your hand to form a well (like a volcano) in the center of the flour.

  4. Carefully pour your eggs into the center and begin slowly mixing together with a fork. Gradually, carefully, work your way all around to incorporate the eggs with the flour, without breaking the outer wall.

  5. After about 5 - 10 minutes it will start coming together into a shaggy mass. Begin using your hands to knead the dough together. Work diligently for another 5 minutes until it is no longer shaggy.

  6. Use the edges of your hands, knuckles, to work the dough until it starts to form a smooth ball. Roll it, applying pressure, into the work surface. Fold it. Roll it again. After about ten minutes it should be a smooth, and ready to rest.

  7. Cut the dough into two and wrap each in plastic wrap. Set into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

  8. The following steps revolve around using a pasta attachment on a Kitchenaid - but you could also do this by hand with a rolling pin. Remove one of the dough balls, unwrap, and cut off a portion of the dough. Lightly flour and cover the rest back with plastic. Press gently and form a rectangle.

  9. Pass the dough through the sheet pasta attachment at it’s widest setting. If it feels sticky, add a little more flour. Gradually tighten the settings of the pasta attachment, one click at a time, and pass the pasta sheet through until it is light and delicate. For tagliatelle, I normally go to the 6th setting.

  10. Allow the sheet of dough (sfoglia) to dry for 2-3 minutes and fold in half. With a knife, trim off irregular edges. Gently fold the dough into about 3 inch folds, over and over until you have a nice compact roll.

  11. Using your knife, carefully begin cutting strips of the roll into about 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) pieces. With your fingers, unroll each strip and sprinkle with a light coating of semolina. You can make little nests with each batch that is finished. Repeat until all of your dough has transformed unto tagliatelle.

  12. Cook right away of store in the fridge covered with a towel.

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Cacio e pepe

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups freshly grated Pecorino Romano

1 1/2 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Salt

1.5 cups pasta water

Directions

  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a dash of salt.

  2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add in crushed black pepper. Stir until the pepper becomes very fragrant. Turn off the heat.

  3. Boil the fresh pasta.

  4. Reserve about 1.5 cups of pasta water as the pasta finishes. The starch from the water is why you wouldn’t just use regular water here.

  5. Transfer the cooked pasta into the skillet with pepper and oil. Toss until all of the noodles are coated.

  6. Add about a cup of pasta water to the noodles and stir. This may feel like a lot but it will all come together when you…

  7. Add all of the freshly grated Pecorino to the pasta, and stir very well until the cheese and water form a luxurious creamy coating all over the noodles. Add more pasta water as necessary.

  8. Divide the pasta into individual plates and sprinkle on a little more fresh Pecorino. Garnish with basil is optional.