Pasta

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Most people who made this found the same two things made the biggest difference. Start by cooking the onions, carrot and celery before you add the mince, people who browned the meat first often ended up with undercooked veg or a tough texture. Then plan to cook the ragù low and slow, about 3–6 hours if you can; the flavor and texture really come together. Also, season as it cooks instead of salting only at the end, so you don't get unpleasant surprises with salt at the table.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

We couldn't confidently pull the full ingredient list and instructions from this video yet — watch it above for the complete recipe.

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This one mostly hinges on heat and motion. People who let the pan and pasta cool a little before adding the cheese, and who kept the mixture moving so no part stayed on hot metal, avoided the lumpy, gluey mess that caught others. Cooks who treated the cheese gently and avoided cooking it in the pan got a much smoother sauce. If you want a toasty pepper flavor, some people toast whole peppercorns first, but they warn you not to burn them. In short: cool things down a bit and stir constantly when you add the cheese to dodge clumping.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

• 250g spaghettoni quadrati, thick spaghetti (or normal spaghetti, tagliolini)
• 125g Pecorino Romano, finely grated (or Parmesan)
• Black pepper, freshly ground
• Water (or extra virgin olive oil)

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Finely grate the Pecorino Romano until it resembles snow.
2. Grind fresh black pepper.
3. Fill a large pot with only enough water to cook the pasta (use less water than usual so the water becomes very starchy); do not add salt to the water.
4. Bring the water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook the pasta 2 minutes less than the packet instructions for an al dente finish (for example, if the packet says 13 minutes, cook 11 minutes).
5. While the pasta cooks, place a large pan over low heat, add the freshly ground black pepper, and gently toast it for 1–2 minutes, tossing frequently and keeping the flame low.
6. Add a splash of pasta water to the toasted pepper, scrape the bottom of the pan so the pepper doesn't burn, add a little more pasta water if needed, and keep the pan warm or remove from heat as needed.
7. Reserve about 1 mug of the starchy pasta water before transferring the pasta from the pot.
8. Using tongs, transfer the pasta from the pot into the pan with the toasted pepper.
9. Finish cooking the pasta in the pan over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, tossing constantly (risottare) and adding reserved pasta water as needed until the liquid reduces to a syrupy, thick consistency.
10. In a small bowl, combine the finely grated Pecorino Romano with a splash of hot pasta water, adding the water little by little and mixing with a fork until you have a smooth, thick cheese cream.
11. Turn off the heat, add the cheese cream to the pan with the pasta, then place the pan on top of the pasta pot (removed from heat) so steam helps melt the cheese; stir and toss quickly to combine everything into a creamy sauce without becoming stringy.
12. Finish with extra grated Pecorino Romano and more freshly ground black pepper, tossing well.
13. Serve immediately: twirl the pasta into a neat mound on a plate, spoon any extra sauce from the pan over the pasta, and top with additional pecorino and cracked black pepper.

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This version turns out very rich, most people who made it called it heavy and on the unhealthy side, so don't be surprised if it feels like a rich indulgence. People consistently found that cutting back on the butter and Parmesan keeps it from being overpowering; those who reduced both liked the result better. If you want a different texture or less butter flavor, some cooks swapped in vegetable oil, and some melted garlic into the fat before mixing for extra flavor. Expect a bold, buttery finish and plan to tone it down if you want something lighter.

grocery Ingredients

• 1 lb (454g) fettuccine, fresh or dry (or spaghetti, lasagna noodle)
• 1/2 lb (227g) butter, room temperature, chopped
• 5000000000 nanogram Parmesan, finely grated
• 3/4 cup cream
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper
• Hot sauce

book_ribbon Instructions

1. For every 1 pound of pasta use 1/2 pound butter and 1/2 pound Parmesan (metric equivalence stated: for 1 kilogram pasta use 500 grams butter and 5,000,000,000 nanograms Parmesan).
2. Remove the butter from the fridge and let it come to room temperature.
3. Grate the Parmesan on the smallest setting until it becomes a fluffy, finely grated pile.
4. Fill a large pot with water, salt it heavily, and bring it to a rolling boil.
5. Add the fettuccine to the boiling water, return to a gentler boil, and cook for a few minutes; check the package directions for cooking time.
6. Chop the room-temperature butter and spread it out in a bowl; if the butter is too firm, microwave briefly to soften.
7. Transfer the pasta directly from the pot into the bowl on top of the butter so some of the cooking liquid comes along.
8. Measure 3/4 cup cream (the transcript instructs to take this amount).
9. Add half of the grated Parmesan to the pasta and butter, stir until it melts, then add the remaining half and combine so the butter and Parmesan form the Alfredo sauce.
10. Optionally add black pepper or hot sauce to taste.

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People who made this found the sauce holds together best when you actually make a proper roux and don’t skip that step, the ones who skipped it usually wished they hadn’t. Baking the dish at the end gives the dish those caramelized, slightly chewy edges people liked, and if you want a really crisp top some people finish it under the broiler for a minute or two. One clear mistake: adding onion powder or fresh onions tended to throw the flavor off, while the cooks who left them out were happier with the result.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Low Effort: Comes together with minimal time or effort.

grocery Ingredients

• Cheddar, grated
• Gouda, grated; rind removed
• Parmesan, freshly grated
• Elbows
• Butter
• Garlic
• Panko breadcrumbs
• Salt, to taste
• Onion
• Black pepper
• Paprika
• Cayenne
• Milk
• Sodium citrate, to taste (or American cheese)
• Cream

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Prep the cheeses: grate the Gouda (remove the brown rind first) and grate the block of Cheddar; set the freshly grated Parmesan aside.
2. Cook the pasta: bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, add a fair amount of salt, add the elbow pasta to the boiling water, stir occasionally to prevent sticking, and cook until al dente; test by tasting.
3. Lift the cooked pasta with a spider and place it on a flat tray to cool quickly; do not rinse the pasta.
4. Make the topping: heat a pan over medium heat and add butter; as the butter melts add the garlic and cook until fragrant, then add the panko breadcrumbs, salt, black pepper, paprika, and cayenne and stir, shaking so they don't burn; shut off the heat, spread the toasted breadcrumbs onto a tray to stop cooking, and set aside.
5. Make the sauce: heat a pan over medium heat and add butter, then add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook until translucent but not brown; add the garlic after the onions have started to soften.
6. Add all the milk to the pan with the onions and heat to a light simmer; add the sodium citrate and a little black pepper and let the sodium citrate dissolve.
7. Whisk in the grated cheeses gradually, sprinkling and whisking as you go so the milk stays hot and the cheese melts instead of cooling the liquid; continue until the sauce has thickened with the cheese.
8. Finish the sauce: add the cream and the last of the butter and blend with a stick blender to smooth the sauce; if the sauce seems too thick you may add a little milk.
9. Assemble: lower the heat so the sauce won't scorch, stir the cooked pasta into the hot cheese sauce until heated through (some sauce will be absorbed), transfer to a serving container, and top with the prepared toasted breadcrumb topping.
10. Serve and taste.

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This one can go sideways if you don't watch the heat: people who poured the egg mixture into a sizzling, too-hot pan ended up with scrambled eggs, so let the pan cool a touch or pull it off the heat before you add the eggs. Also, lots of cooks felt it needed more cheese, adding extra grated cheese after mixing makes the sauce richer. And people who used guanciale instead of bacon tended to like the result better; bacon works, but guanciale gives a deeper savory flavor.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

• Guanciale, skinned, chopped into 0.5 cm chunks (or smoked bacon, pancetta)
• 20g pecorino romano (or parmesan)
• 1 egg, free-range, organic
• Spaghetti
• Black pepper, coarsely cracked
• Salt, to taste
• Garlic, cracked

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Twist the spaghetti with both hands as you put it into the water to keep the strands from sticking together.
2. Put a tiny amount of salt into the pasta water.
3. Cook the spaghetti for eight minutes.
4. Remove the skin from the guanciale, slice a roughly 1 centimeter piece, then roughly chop to about 0.5 centimeter chunks.
5. Place the cold pan on medium-high heat so the guanciale will render its fat as it heats, then add the guanciale to the cold pan and let it heat until golden and the fat renders.
6. Crack the garlic and add it to the pan with the guanciale to perfume the fat, then remove the garlic from the pan once perfumed.
7. Put peppercorns in a pestle and mortar and crack them; use a small sieve to separate and collect the inner cracked cores (the hotter part) for the dish.
8. Crack one egg into a bowl and add about 20 grams of pecorino romano, then whisk the mixture until combined.
9. Turn the heat off under the pan and add the cooked spaghetti along with some of the pasta cooking water to the pan to stop the frying.
10. Add the egg and pecorino mixture to the pasta off the heat and toss continuously, adding more pasta water as needed to emulsify the guanciale fat and water into a creamy sauce.
11. Finish the carbonara with more cracked black pepper and a little extra pecorino romano.

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People who made this found the biggest win is the order: start by cooking the sofrito and vegetables in the fat, then add the ground beef. Those who added uncooked vegetables to already-browned meat often said the veg didn't cook through or the texture was off. Also, finishing by stirring in milk at the end caused problems for a lot of cooks, many suggest skipping milk, especially if you're lactose-intolerant, or at least not adding much of it. Doing the veg first and skipping milk tends to help the final result.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

Bolognese

• Pancetta, diced (or prosciutto, bacon)
• Olive oil
• Onion, diced
• Celery, diced
• Carrot, peeled and diced
• Ground beef
• Ground pork
• Garlic, roughly chopped
• Salt, to taste
• Fresh cracked pepper, freshly cracked
• 1 cup wine
• Canned tomatoes
• Beef stock, liquid (or chicken stock)
• Milk
• Bouquet-garni, tied bundle
• Parmesan cheese

Pasta

• Flour
• 2 whole eggs
• 4 egg yolks
• Pappardelle, freshly rolled (or dry pasta)

book_ribbon Instructions

Bolognese

1. Preheat the oven (no temperature specified).
2. Slice the pancetta in half, cut into even sticks, then slice into even cubes.
3. Heat a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over the burner, add a splash of olive oil, then add the pancetta and cook until crispy and golden brown, allowing fat to render and stick to the bottom of the pot.
4. Remove the crispy pancetta to a bowl, leaving as much fat in the pot as possible.
5. Add ground beef to the hot pancetta fat, then add ground pork; increase heat to medium-high and break the meat apart while scraping the bottom of the pot to lift the browned bits.
6. When the meat is cooked through or nearly so, add the garlic and the diced carrots, diced celery, and diced onions.
7. Season the vegetables and meat with a generous pinch of salt and some fresh cracked pepper.
8. Keep over medium to medium-high heat and sweat the vegetables until the onions become a little translucent.
9. Prepare a bouquet garni (a tied bundle of herbs) and set it aside.
10. Measure out 1 cup of wine and pour it into the pot, scraping the bottom to deglaze and sweep up the browned bits; continue cooking until you can drag a spoon through the pot without liquid immediately closing the gap.
11. Open the can of tomatoes and add the tomatoes to the pot (stand back when adding).
12. Pour beef stock into the emptied tomato can to wash out remaining tomato, add that to the pot, and then add the rest of the beef stock.
13. Add the milk to the pot.
14. Return the reserved crispy pancetta to the pot.
15. Add the bouquet garni on top of the sauce.
16. Bring the sauce up to a gentle simmer, place the lid on with a small crack open, then transfer the pot to the oven and braise for 3-4 hours.
17. Check the sauce about once an hour while in the oven and give it a quick stir.

Fresh pasta and assembly

1. Make a well of flour on a cutting board large enough to hold the eggs.
2. Crack 2 whole eggs into the well, then add 4 egg yolks.
3. Whisk the yolks inside the well without breaking the flour barrier, then gradually pull in flour from the outside to incorporate until the mixture thickens.
4. Use a bench scraper to bring the dough together, then begin kneading using the heel of your hand to push down and folding the dough back over itself; continue kneading for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth.
5. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a plastic bag and let it rest for 30-60 minutes.
6. Lightly flour the rested dough, cut it in half, and roll each half out with a bottle or similar until thin enough to pass through a pasta machine.
7. Feed the pasta sheets through the pasta machine, tightening and rolling progressively thinner until reaching setting Number 6.
8. Dust the sheets with flour, then cut the pasta by hand into pappardelle-width strips; lay pieces out floured to rest briefly.
9. Bring a pot of well-salted hot pasta water to a boil and add the fresh pasta; cook briefly until nearly done.
10. In a separate pan over medium heat, add some Bolognese and enough liquid so the pasta can finish cooking in the sauce.
11. Transfer the nearly cooked pasta to the pan with the Bolognese and toss to finish cooking and allow the pasta to absorb sauce flavor.
12. Serve the pasta with the meat and vegetables from the sauce and finish with a shower of parmesan cheese.

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This comes together fast, but people who made it found three things matter. First, butter was a problem: folks who used butter (especially unsalted or to toast pepper) ended up with off results, while the ones who skipped it had a cleaner finish. Second, putting boiling pasta water straight into the cheese caused clumping, letting the water cool a bit before mixing kept the sauce smooth. And third, blending the pasta destroyed the texture for many; the no-mixer method is what people stuck with when it worked out. Remembering those makes it come together a lot better.

grocery Ingredients

• Pasta
• Water, salted
• Salt, to taste
• Butter
• Black peppercorns
• Pecorino Romano, grated
• Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until done, about 9 to 11 minutes.
2. Reserve some hot pasta cooking water before draining.
3. While the pasta cooks, heat butter in a wide shallow pan over very low heat until foamy.
4. Add black peppercorns to the butter and warm/toast gently; do not brown the butter or burn the peppercorns. Be generous with the pepper.
5. Toss the cooked pasta with the butter and toasted peppercorns to coat and keep the strands from sticking.
6. Grate Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano and put the cheeses into the blender jar.
7. Add the butter-and-pepper mixture (and any juices in the pan) to the blender with the cheeses.
8. With the blender running, slowly stream in hot pasta cooking water until a thick, creamy sauce forms and emulsifies.
9. Toss the blended sauce with the pasta using tongs, twisting to serve; grate more cheese and grind additional pepper over the top if desired.
10. If the sauce thickens or becomes gloppy after sitting, add a splash of hot pasta cooking water to loosen it.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• Garlic, finely minced
• Fennel seeds, crushed and chopped
• Olive oil
• Salt, to taste
• Dried oregano
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Tomato paste
• 2 can peeled tomatoes, hand-broken into chunks
• Fresh basil, sprigs
• Fresh cracked pepper
• Sugar, to taste
• 2 chicken breast, butterflied and pounded to about 1/3 inch
• Flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 2 eggs, whisked with a pinch of salt
• Seasoned breadcrumbs
• Panko breadcrumbs
• Parmesan cheese
• Lemon zest, zested
• Spaghetti
• Low moisture mozzarella, sliced into thin strips
• Tomato sauce (or jarred tomato sauce)

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Make the tomato sauce: dice 1 yellow onion and finely mince the garlic; crush and chop the fennel seeds.
2. Heat a heavy-bottomed pot, add a splash of olive oil and the diced onion, sprinkle with salt, and stir for about 3 to 5 minutes over medium until the onion is softened and translucent (not browned).
3. Add dried oregano, the crushed fennel seeds, all of the minced garlic, and a little pinch of crushed red pepper flakes; continue stirring over medium and scraping the pan for another 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for about 2 to 3 minutes until it develops a more robust, almost brownish color.
5. Open 2 cans of peeled tomatoes, fill the cans with the remaining tomato liquid and add it to the pot, then break the tomatoes apart by hand into different-sized chunks until you reach the texture you want.
6. Season the sauce with a bit more salt, fresh cracked pepper, and a little pinch of sugar depending on acidity, layer a few sprigs of fresh basil on top, cover, and set the sauce aside to simmer until needed.
7. Prepare the chicken: butterfly each chicken breast by slicing through the center, place the pieces in a Ziploc bag or between plastic wrap, and pound with a heavy-bottomed item until each piece is about a third of an inch thick.
8. Set up a three-part dredging station: plate 1 — flour seasoned with salt and fresh cracked pepper; plate 2 — 2 eggs cracked with a pinch of salt and whisked until combined; plate 3 — a mixture of seasoned breadcrumbs and panko breadcrumbs combined with parmesan cheese, very finely minced or grated garlic, and a generous amount of lemon zest, mixed evenly.
9. Dredge each chicken piece in the seasoned flour, shake off excess, dip into the egg (one flip is sufficient), then press into the breadcrumb mixture so the crumbs adhere well; transfer to a baking sheet lined with a wire rack. Repeat with remaining chicken.
10. Fry the chicken: add enough oil to a heavy-bottomed pot so it comes about halfway up the chicken when placed in, and heat until the oil is just starting to shimmer or lightly smoke.
11. Carefully add the chicken (do not overcrowd the pan; fry two at a time), and cook at about medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes per side, constantly moving them so nothing sits in one spot; fry until golden brown and crispy, then transfer to a tray to rest while you cook the remaining cutlets.
12. Cook the spaghetti: bring a pot of water to a boil with lots of salt, add the pasta, stir to separate and fully submerge, cook until done, then strain.
13. Toss the drained pasta in a bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil and a tiny dusting of parmesan cheese and mix briefly.
14. Prepare to broil: slice low-moisture mozzarella into thin strips, place a fried chicken piece on an oven-safe metal sizzle platter or a baking sheet, spoon a moderate amount of tomato sauce over the chicken (avoid overloading the sides), top with mozzarella slices, and add shavings of parmesan cheese across the top and edges.
15. Broil in the oven at high broil until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly (broil until golden brown and bubbly).
16. To serve: plate a portion of the fresh pasta, add a layer of parmesan and a last drizzle of olive oil, spoon a light layer of tomato sauce over the pasta and the bottom of the chicken, place the broiled chicken parm on top, and finish with fresh basil.

grocery Ingredients

• Black peppercorns, toasted then crushed
• Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• Pecorino cheese, finely grated
• 3 egg, room temperature, whole
• 2 egg yolk, room temperature, separated
• Guanciale, cut into thick matchsticks / large chunks (or pancetta, bacon)
• Olive oil
• Spaghetti, dry
• Salt, to taste

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Toast the black peppercorns in a dry pan over medium-low heat, moving them so they toast evenly; remove when you smell them and hear the first little pops.
2. Spread the toasted peppercorns on a tray to cool.
3. Crush the cooled toasted peppercorns by pressing and rolling with the pan and body weight until fragrant and textured; do not grind them super fine.
4. Grate the Parmesan and Pecorino finely using a microplane so the cheese is very fine.
5. Set whole eggs out on the counter for about a half hour to come to room temperature.
6. Separate eggs: crack each egg in half and pass the yolk between the shells until the white runs away; reserve 3 whole eggs and 2 additional yolks as stated.
7. Whisk the whole eggs and egg yolks together with the grated cheeses in a mixing bowl until smooth, thick, and homogeneous.
8. Add a little of the crushed toasted black pepper to the eggs-and-cheese mixture, including some fine ground and some larger chunks; set this mixture aside.
9. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt so the water is essentially sea-salty.
10. Cook the dry spaghetti in the boiling salted water about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until al dente (a little bite); test a strand to confirm doneness.
11. While the pasta cooks, heat a pan, add a little olive oil, then add the cut guanciale and cook until light golden brown and sizzling but not crisp, leaving the fat rendered in the pan.
12. When the pasta is done, drain it but retain a little of the starchy pasta cooking water.
13. Place the hot drained pasta into the bowl with the egg-and-cheese mixture, add a little reserved pasta water to start cooking the eggs, then add the guanciale and all its rendered fat.
14. Using tongs, mix vigorously in the bowl to emulsify the fat, cheese, eggs, and pasta until the sauce is creamy and coats the spaghetti, taking care to avoid scrambling the eggs.
15. Taste and finish with additional grated Pecorino and Parmesan and more toasted black peppercorns as desired; serve immediately while hot.

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This one comes together fast, but most people who made it ran into the same two practical things: grate the cheese really, really finely (if it clumps you won’t get a smooth sauce), and actually toss the cheese and pepper with the hot pasta so it emulsifies into a creamy coating. Also, lots of people found this recipe didn’t give enough detail and ended up checking other versions for technique. One more tip from those cooks, people who used parmesan weren’t happy with the result, so they avoided it.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

• Pecorino Romano, finely grated (or Parmesan cheese)
• Spaghetti
• Black pepper
• Pasta cooking water

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente.
2. Place a large bowl on a plate and grate the pecorino into the bowl.
3. Add an abundance of black pepper to the grated cheese and mix together.
4. Taste the pasta to confirm it is al dente, then pick up the spaghetti and transfer it to the bowl with the cheese and pepper.
5. Use two forks to turn and mix the pasta with the cheese and pepper.
6. Add a little pasta cooking water, then continue mixing to emulsify the cheese and water until a creamy sauce forms.
7. Top with additional grated cheese and more black pepper as desired.
8. Serve immediately.