Wild Garlic & Grana Padano Cacio e Pepe Pici

I’ve been reunited with Grana Padano and it feels GREAT. Especially in time for Spring, and being able to create this plateful of seasonal deliciousness.

Wild Garlic Cacio e Pepe Pici - my take on this lovely Italian dish with ramsons blended into the dough. It’s really simple with few ingredients but they come together to create something absolutely delicious.

The wild garlic gives it a lovely freshness while the Grana Padano gives it body and a lovely tang.

For this recipe, I use Grana Padano Riserva which is aged for over 20 months, giving it lovely complex umami notes and a wonderful depth of flavour that elevates dishes like this. I adore it.

If you can’t get wild garlic or it’s out of season, you can use spinach leaves instead. It’s still delicious..

Ingredients:

(Serves four)

• 80g wild garlic, washed and roughly chopped

• 350g 00 flour

• 1tbsp salt

• 2tbsp olive oil

• 100ml water

• 100g Grana Padano Riserva, finely grated

• 1tbsp ground black pepper

• Juice of half a lemon

• 30g butter

Method:

Add flour, salt and wild garlic to a food processor and pulse until it’s all incorporated.

Add the olive oil and blend. Gradually add water - you may not need all the water. You want a dough that’s not too sticky and not too dry, and it will look rough when it’s in the food processor but remove it and knead for two to three minutes until smooth. If it’s too sticky add a sprinkle more flour and if it’s too dry, add a tiny bit more water.

Pat down until the dough is a thick flat disc, place in a plastic bag or cling film and

refrigerate for two hours

Dust a large plate or tray with flour and take your dough out of the freezer. Cut into strips and cut the strips into one inch pieces - cover any dough you’re not using so it doesn’t dry out

Make sure your work surface is clean, dry and free from flour, otherwise it’s difficult to roll the pici. Using one hand at first, start rolling one piece against the worktop, back and forth. Once it’s long enough to use both hands, keep rolling, starting at the middle and gently rolling the hands to the end until the pici is about the thickness of a straw. Place into the floured tray and repeat until you’ve used all the dough.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add two ladle-fuls of the water to a frying pan with the butter and lemon juice. Bring to the boil until it’s emulsified.

Cook the pici in the saucepan for 4-5 minutes) (you may have to do this in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan). Transfer to the frying pan and toss to cover in the buttery water. Add a good handful of Grana Padano Riserva and wait until it’s melted on top before you toss to cover and distribute evenly. Once it’s all mixed in, add pepper. Toss and serve immediately.