Bimi® broccoli cacio e pepe
Cacio e pepe (“cheese and pepper”) is a Roman pasta dish typically involving either spaghetti, tonnarelli or pici pasta shapes. It’s simple in design, but when done well it’s hard to believe such a glossy, silky, flavourful sauce comes from such a small and unassuming ingredient list; the result is so, so much more than cheesy peppery pasta.
This recipe takes the spirit of the dish and adapts it to suit Bimi® broccoli with, again, the end result being much greater than the sum of its parts. Don’t be tempted to heat the saucepan, as you’ll likely end up with a stringy mess rather than silky sauce. This side dish works well with a wide variety of centrepieces; in particular beef, chicken, lamb, mushrooms or white fish
Specifications
Prep
5 minutes
Cook
10 minutes
Serves
6
Method
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Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the Bimi® broccoli and simmer vigorously for 3 ½ to 4 minutes so that the Bimi® broccoli is cooked but still vibrant, with just a hint of bite.
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While the Bimi® broccoli is boiling, put 70g of the cheese, the butter and the ground black pepper into a large and wide frying pan or wok. Add 6 tbsp of hot water from the pan of Bimi® broccoli and use a whisk to mix the melting cheese and butter into a paste. Add 2-3 more tbsp of water and encourage the paste to become a silky, yellow-grey sauce. Do not heat the pan as the cheese will become stringy and claggy; any bits that aren’t melting will have a second chance with the addition of the hot Bimi® broccoli.
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When the Bimi® broccoli is cooked, drain through a colander then immediately add to the wide pan (which is still not on the heat). Use tongs and a continual shake of the pan to toss the Bimi® broccoli through the sauce, ensuring the cheese has fully melted and there is a general gloss to the Bimi® broccoli.
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Decant onto a serving platter, pouring the sauce over the top. Sprinkle over an additional pinch of pepper plus the remaining 10g of grated cheese. Be sure that everyone gets a spoonful or two of the sauce as well as their Bimi® broccoli.
