This video has been pestering my YouTube feed.
It is pretty freaking simple. Just follow the instructions. Mine came out looking different, but I suspect it tastes exactly the same.
My bag of frozen peas cost 99¢ for 12oz. The small shells were $1.29/lb, so figure 97¢ for 12oz. A splash of olive oil; 3¢? Let’s say 10¢. Pecorino Romano* from Sam’s Club, it was $7.99/lb when I bought it; if you use a microplane grater, 9 fl oz of really fluffy grated cheese is about 25¢. A medium-small onion, the bag cost $1.99 and had 8 onions. 25¢.
$2.56. Heck, round it up to $3. We ate half of it last night, and will eat the other half tonight. So, 75¢ per meal!
How good is it? Eh. It’s okay. Bacon or pancetta or guanciale would make it better. Mary Joan said, “Well, it’s edible. It’s definitely food.” I liked it okay enough, but except for cost there’s no reason to make this when I could make mac & cheese.
*I went looking for the current price of Pecorino Romano, and couldn’t find it anywhere. So I typed into the search bar, “why no pecorino romano” figuring tariffs or something… but no. There’s a recall due to listeria.
“Romano cheese (specifically Pecorino Romano) is currently hard to find due to a major FDA Class I recall initiated in late 2025 and updated in January 2026. The recall stems from potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination in grated products distributed nationwide under brands like Ambriola, Locatelli, and Boar's Head.”
Lesson: Always make sure you have enough cheese.
It is pretty freaking simple. Just follow the instructions. Mine came out looking different, but I suspect it tastes exactly the same.
My bag of frozen peas cost 99¢ for 12oz. The small shells were $1.29/lb, so figure 97¢ for 12oz. A splash of olive oil; 3¢? Let’s say 10¢. Pecorino Romano* from Sam’s Club, it was $7.99/lb when I bought it; if you use a microplane grater, 9 fl oz of really fluffy grated cheese is about 25¢. A medium-small onion, the bag cost $1.99 and had 8 onions. 25¢.
$2.56. Heck, round it up to $3. We ate half of it last night, and will eat the other half tonight. So, 75¢ per meal!
How good is it? Eh. It’s okay. Bacon or pancetta or guanciale would make it better. Mary Joan said, “Well, it’s edible. It’s definitely food.” I liked it okay enough, but except for cost there’s no reason to make this when I could make mac & cheese.
*I went looking for the current price of Pecorino Romano, and couldn’t find it anywhere. So I typed into the search bar, “why no pecorino romano” figuring tariffs or something… but no. There’s a recall due to listeria.
“Romano cheese (specifically Pecorino Romano) is currently hard to find due to a major FDA Class I recall initiated in late 2025 and updated in January 2026. The recall stems from potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination in grated products distributed nationwide under brands like Ambriola, Locatelli, and Boar's Head.”
Lesson: Always make sure you have enough cheese.
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