Ok, guys. I'm normally excited about posting recipes. But for this Sage Butter Cacio e Pepe, I am SO excited.

I was cleaning out my freezer last week and I found some frozen homemade pasta. We sometimes freeze dough or cut pasta into strips and then freeze it. Well, I had frozen homemade tagliatelle, and I knew I wanted to use it.

I wanted something simple. Something quick. And of course it had to be delicious.

I've talked a lot about my garden this year, and one of the things I'm growing is sage. My sage is just getting huge. And the more I cut it, the more it grows back.

So, I cut some sage, fried it up in butter, removed it, browned the butter, added the cooked pasta, then grated parmesan allll over it. I topped it with black pepper and sage leaves, and this beautiful dish was born.

About Cacio e Pepe

If you've never had cacio e pepe before, it's a Roman dish that translates to "cheese and pepper." It's basically fancy Italian Mac and cheese and I love it.

The best part about it is that cacio e pepe is SO easy to make! The secret to the dish (and basically every pasta dish) is the pasta water.

Even though your sauce is basically a little butter and cheese, adding pasta water allows that starch to create a "saucy" texture to the dish. It's basically liquid magic.

Sage butter cacio e pepe would be perfect for an at-home date night, a quick celebratory weeknight dinner, or honestly, whenever you want something good. It wouldn't be a bad breakfast. I won't judge.

This would be amazing with my roasted tomatoes and burrata recipe. It's the perfect Italian night at home.

Ingredients

2 tbsp unsalted butter
8-10 fresh sage leaves
½ lb pasta (I used tagliatelle)
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
black pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

While water is warming, add butter and sage to a skillet over medium heat. Fry sage until the color is deep green and the edges start to curl. Remove sage from pan and set on a paper towel.

After sage is removed, turn pan heat to low to allow butter to brown, but not burn.

When the water is boiling, add your pasta and cook until al dente. If you're using fresh pasta, this should only be about 2 minutes.

When the pasta is done, use tongs to directly transport the pasta into the skillet with the butter. Stir well.

Add grated parmesan, a good cranking of black pepper, and 1 tbsp pasta water. Again, stir well.

If you sauce is too thick, continue adding pasta water until it has a silky texture.

Serve pasta topped with sage leaves and more black pepper.