Welcome to Jesse Fixes Dinner, a series in which food editor Jesse Szewczyk shares his best tricks for effortless weeknight cooking.
It’s rare that a mac and cheese craving strikes when I have all of the ingredients on hand. Maybe I have milk but no cream, or Parmesan but no cheddar. Either way, I’m not running out to the grocery store at 7 p.m. when my stomach’s rumbling. I’ll turn to this few-ingredients dinner instead.
The magic of this pasta sauce can be credited to one kitchen workhorse—the blender. To make it, you’ll combine just three things: grated Parmesan, olive oil, and cold water. There’s no need to painstakingly grate the cheese on a Microplane (the big holes of a box grater are faster) or carefully stream in the liquids. A blender does all the work of making the sauce cohesive. After a quick whirl, the trio becomes smooth and fluffy, almost like mayonnaise—that’s when you know it’s done. In standard blenders, this takes about three minutes, but high-powered models like a Vitamix can make it happen in just one or two.
Then the sauce is ready to be tossed with freshly boiled spaghetti. At first, the mixture might appear a little clumpy, with small pieces of stringy cheese. Don’t worry. Once you start adding hot pasta water, the sauce will emulsify into submission. You’ll know the sauce has enough pasta water once it reaches the texture of Alfredo and the cheese has completely melted. Within minutes, the combination of cooked pasta, olive oil, and Parmesan has transformed into the creamiest, dreamiest pasta—the kind you’d eat at a white-tablecloth restaurant.
Part of the beauty of this dish is its simplicity, but you can also treat it as a starting point. Add a scrunch of freshly ground black pepper for a subtle punch, like cacio e pepe. Or grate some lemon zest on top, then serve with lemon wedges, for a bright, breezy flavor. You can also throw in just about any veggies or proteins you have on hand: Add a handful of cooked shrimp, or some blanched broccoli, or stir a bag of baby spinach into the hot pasta until the leaves soften. Whatever you do, shop your kitchen for additions and skip the extra trip to the supermarket. You deserve an easy night for once.
