Popcorn might be my favorite food. What instant ramen is to the archetypal college student, popcorn was to me. I ate it for dinner at least twice a week for many years of my early twenties, and I continue to keep a bag of kernels in my pantry for particularly snackish nights. Typically I like to eat it with butter and some soy sauce—try it!—but sometimes I want to dress it up a bit more. I was recently browsing the spices and seasonings at The Spice House and came across some Romano cheese powder. The idea struck me like a ton of pasta: I should make cacio e pepe popcorn. Salty, slightly tangy cheese plus fragrant, freshly cracked pepper and lots of butter provide a perfectly craveable seasoning for my favorite snack.
Ingredients
1/3 cup popcorn
Romano cheese powder
4 Tbps unsalted butter
good-quality pepper
salt
Directions
Start by popping 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels. I personally favor the air popper (here's the one I have and love), but you can do it the old-fashioned way with oil in a pan, if you prefer.
Melt a half a stick of butter and spoon it evenly over the popcorn, mixing as you go.
Crack a good amount of fresh pepper onto the popcorn—you should be able to really taste the pepper. Then, sprinkle on 2 tablespoons of the Romano cheese powder.
Mix well and give it a taste. Keep adding pepper and cheese, tasting as you go, until each piece of popcorn is well coated and tastes super cheesy.
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