Parmesan Pasta, plus Butter & Pepper

The Ultimate Parmesan Pasta! Pasta ribbons are tossed with butter, olive oil, black pepper and lots of parmesan for an incredibly simple comfort food recipe that's ready in 15 minutes.

Parmesan Pasta in Italy

One of the most memorable meals we've ever had was this simple, rustic pasta dish….say what?

We were once served ribbons of mafalde pasta in a WHOLE parmesan wheel. They scraped the cheese with two forks so all the crumbs covered the pasta and then it was served on our plate.

Hello, best freaking cheesy pasta we've ever tasted!

It was good, strong, salty and buttery cheese with perfectly cooked al dente ribbons of pasta. It's now our go-to cheesy pasta dish and you can make it at home easily (minus the whole cheese wheel).

How to Make the Ultimate Parmesan Pasta – Step By Step

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and boil according to packet instructions until al dente. Meanwhile, grate the parmesan with a fork to resemble large crumbs, it doesn't matter if there are some larger crumbs (photos 1 & 2).

Add the butter and olive oil to a large bowl. Once the pasta is cooked transfer it from the boiling water with a spaghetti spoon or tongs to the bowl (photo 3).

Toss the pasta in the butter and olive oil until it's completely coated and the butter has melted. Once the butter is melted add the parmesan. Toss the pasta until evenly coated add a pinch of black pepper and serve (photo 4).

Can we use Pecorino?

We recommend using Parmigiano Reggiano not your regular parmesan or Pecorino. Parmigiano Reggiano has such a high-quality flavour and has the solid salty, buttery flavour that this pasta needs.

You could use Pecorino if you wanted but we find it a bit too salty to enjoy in this way.

Prepping Ahead and How to Store Leftovers

The great thing about this pasta recipe is that it's still incredibly good cold especially because all of the cheese doesn't melt. We've often made this for lunch on the go or picnics. You may need to a drizzle of oil to loosen it once cooled but pop it into your container and eat within 1 day.

Important Tips to Make this Recipe Perfectly

• We like to remove the pasta with a spaghetti spoon or tongs instead of draining it so there's a little pasta water to help emulsify the sauce and add extra flavour.
• If possible grate the parmesan like we've shown in the step by step photos with a fork so it resembles coarse crumbs. We've found this recipe is 10x better when we do this like they served it in Italy. Some of the cheese melts and some stays in little chunks giving you the ultimate cheesy hit!
• Black pepper is a must, the peppery kick cuts through the rich cheese.
• We recommend using a long pasta shape if you can't find Mafalde we'd use tagliatelle or spaghetti.

More Simple Pasta Recipes You Might Like:

• Farfalle pasta with pancetta, chili and garlic
• Bucatini with roasted red pepper cream sauce
• Speck and mushroom pappardelle

Ingredients

Makes 4 people

• 13 oz mafalde pasta ribbons ((380g))
• 1 cups parmesan cheese ((100g))
• 1/2 tbsp butter ((knob of butter))
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pinch black pepper

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and boil according to packet instructions until al dente. Meanwhile, grate the parmesan with a fork to resemble large crumbs (it doesn't matter if there are some larger crumbs)

2. Add the butter and olive oil to a large bowl. Once the pasta is cooked transfer it from the boiling water with a spaghetti spoon to the bowl draining off any excess water.

3. Toss the pasta in the butter and olive oil until it's completely coated and the butter has melted. Leave the pasta to cool for 30 seconds to 1 minute then add the parmesan. Toss the pasta until evenly coated add a pinch of black pepper and serve.

Kitchen notes

• We like to remove the pasta with a spaghetti spoon instead of draining it so there's a little pasta water to help emulsify the sauce and add extra flavour.
• If possible grate the parmesan like we've shown in the step by step photos with a fork so it resembles coarse crumbs. We've found this recipe is 10x better when we do this like they served it in Italy. Some of the cheese melts and some stays in little chunks giving you the ultimate cheesy hit!
• Black pepper is a must, the peppery kick cuts through the rich cheese.
• We recommend using a long pasta shape if you can't find Mafalde we'd use tagliatelle or spaghetti.