Pasta alla Nomad
(Cacio e Szechuan)
What would happen if you put a shepherd from Italy into the Chinese province of Szechuan? Here’s a recipe for Cacio e Szechuan, where we use Szechuan peppercorns and pork belly to create a fusion twist on the pasta of Rome: Pasta alla Gricia.
Check out the recipe video here!
Ingredients
6 oz Pork Belly cut into strips
8 oz Bucatini or other pasta
1 ½ Cups Pecorino Romano (finely grated)
1 tbsp ground peppercorns (¼ tbsp green, ¼ tbsp black, ½ tbsp Szechuan)
Recipe
Put a tablespoon of water and your Pork Belly into a skillet over medium-high heat
Cook, stirring often, until the fat has rendered from the meat and the Pork Belly is golden-brown (8-9 minutes)
Turn off the heat and remove the Pork Belly from the skillet. Add a pinch of salt to the meat and set aside.
Boil pasta in salted water until half-way Al Dente (5 min for Bucatini)
Turn skillet to high heat and bloom ground peppercorns in the rendered pork fat for 1 minute
Move 1 ½ cups of pasta water into the skillet and then add pasta
Finish cooking pasta in skillet until Al Dente, adding ¼ cups of pasta water as needed
A minute before pasta is done, add Pork Belly back into the skillet
Once the pasta is Al Dente, turn off the heat and wait 30 seconds
Add half of the cheese and stir until incorporated, adding more pasta water as needed if clumping occurs
Add remainder of cheese and stir until fully incorporated and emulsified
Serve, garnishing with extra ground peppercorns or cheese (Parmesan or Pecorino) as desired.
