Cacio e Pepe’s star ingredients: pecorino cheese, black pepper, butter, and starchy pasta cooking water prove that soups can also create magic. As Ravinder Bhogal writes in his beautiful cookbook, Comfort & Joy, this simple but wonderfully flavorful soup is packed with kale, chickpeas, and ready-to-cook orzo. It’s like cheesy pasta and fagioli.”
storage: It can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months. The soup will thicken as the orzo absorbs liquid during storage. When reheating, add water to dilute.
Replacement: Don’t you have Pecorino Romano? >>Use Parmesan cheese.
Kale >> Swiss chard, mustard greens, spinach.
Chickpeas >> Cannellini or other white beans.
Orzo>>Ditalini.
material
Quantity: Four–6 (makes 10 cups)
direction
step 1
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Step 2
Pour in the stock, raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Add kale, chickpeas, and orzo. Reduce heat to medium until liquid comes to a boil and cook until orzo is tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
Step 3
Add cheese and butter, stir vigorously until butter melts (avoid splattering), then add pepper and salt and stir. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to keep the cheese from sticking too much. Some are unavoidable. Taste and season with salt and/or pepper as needed.
Step 4
Divide between bowls, add a little cheese and pepper to each bowl, and serve warm.