Homemade Fettuccine Cacio E Pepe

Had a fun and successful attempt at making pasta from scratch last night! I bought a set of pasta attachments for my @kitchenaidusa stand mixer at the beginning of quarantine, and just got around to trying it out. Better late than never! I was super happy with the results of our Fettuccine Cacio e Pepe. Here’s how I made it:

Pasta Dough:

Combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 tsp of salt, 4 large eggs, and 1 tbsp of olive oil in a food processor. Turn on for 1 minute. Dough will not form a ball, but if you press it together with your fingers it should clump. Pour out on a lightly floured surface, form a ball, and knead for 2-3 minutes. Wrap in plastic, and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Thinning and Cutting the Dough:

Use the pasta roller attachment to thin out the dough. You want the it smooth to touch. We ran ours through on setting number 2 a few times, and then a few times on number 5. I’d probably go to 6 the next time to get it a little thinner.

Change out the attachment to the fettuccine cutter. You get one shot here, so get it right! Feed the dough through the cutter, then lightly flour the noodles so they don’t stick together. Cut to desired length.

Cooking the Pasta:

Boil a pot of water with 2 tbsp of salt. Drop in noodles and cook for 2-5 minutes, to desired doneness. Reserve 1/2 a cup of the pasta water and the drain.

Cacio e Pepe Sauce:

Return fettuccine to pot, stir in 1.5 cups of Parmesan or Pecorino Romano (I used pecorino because that’s what I had), 4 tbsp of softened butter, the 1/2 cup of pasta water, and lots of freshly ground pepper. Combine til smooth. Plate and enjoy!