Favorite Dinner for One Meal: Cacio e Pepe w/ Prosciutto

I think everyone has that meal that they like to make themselves when it's going to me a me time type of night, hanging out on the couch with your favorite book or show and no interruptions by anyone. Just like the go to entertainment we enjoy in that realm there is also almost always a go to dish. For me that dish is cacio e pepe or pasta carbonara. I'll save the latter for another post but I'm sharing all the goods for the pepe. I'm also aware that the purists will tell me there is no room for prosciutto in cacio e pepe but I like the additional saltiness it brings to the dish and like I stated earlier this one is my go to dish when no one else is around. Enjoy and I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Ingredients:

• Salt

• 1 ½ cups finely grated pecorino Romano, plus more for dusting completed dish

• 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, plus more for finishing the dish

• 1/2 pound of spaghetti noodles

• 6 slices of prosciutto that have been cut into slivers

• 1 tbsp of butter

• Good olive oil

Directions:

1. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Reserve ⅔ cup pasta water and drain pasta.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, put 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add a generous amount of black pepper and toast until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Add up to no more than 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water and adding it a little bit at a time and bring to simmer. Whisk in butter then, using tongs, toss pasta into butter mixture.

4. Add cheeses and prosciutto and toss constantly until cheese melts removing skillet from heat when about half the cheese has melted. (If sauce ever becomes too thick, loosen with more pasta water.)

5. sprinkle the top of the dish with any additional parm and chopped parsley as a garnish if you wish