Authentic Cacio e Pepe
Probably the most famous of all the Roman pasta dishes, cacio e pepe, is known throughout the world and comes together quickly. With a velvety and salty cheese sauce and a strong taste of freshly ground black pepper, it has an irresistible and unmistakable flavor. While it seems simple to make, there’s a few tricks to making it just right without clumping or having a weak flavor.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces spaghetti, or pasta of choice
- 2 cups Pecorino Romano, grated
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
Directions
- Start by grating 2 cups of pecorino Romano into a mixing bowl and set aside. Then grind 2 tablespoons of black peppercorns. You can use a mortar and pestle, smash with a meat mallet, or use a pepper grinder that has multiple coarseness options. I use this Oxo Pepper Grinder 1-2 steps down from the largest grind.
- Add the ground black pepper to a large skillet and set over medium heat. Toast the peppercorns for a few minutes, until you can smell a strong aroma of black pepper, about 2-3 minutes. Stir and shake the pan as they toast so that they don’t burn. When ready, leave them in the pan but remove from the heat and set aside.
- While the pepper toasts, bring a large pot of water to a boil and lightly salt it. Use less water than you normally would for cooking pasta, just enough to keep the pasta covered and cook. Boil 12oz of pasta for about 4-5 minutes less than the package calls for al dente.
- When the pasta is almost ready, move the skillet with the black pepper back onto a burner set to medium-low. Add a ladle or two of the pasta water to the pan, about a ½ cup worth. Reserve some of the pasta water in a coffee cup or glass measuring cup, about a cup or so worth, and set aside. Transfer the pasta into the skillet and mix with the peppercorns and water. Continue cooking and stirring until the pasta is almost done cooking.
- In the meantime, add some of the reserved and slightly cooled pasta water to the grated cheese and mix. The cheese should begin to melt and form a paste. Begin adding the cheese paste to the pasta in the skillet and remove the skillet from the heat. Stir and mix and toss until all the cheese is used and the pasta is coated in a creamy sauce. If it looks a little clumpy, add some more of the pasta water until you have a creamy consistency without lumps.
- Once you have a creamy consistency, immediately plate, and serve. Garnish with additional pecorino Romano and black pepper.
Equipment Used
Notes
1) Pecorino Romano – When using pecorino in sauce recipes, the trick is to grate the cheese. Buy whole wedges and, using a box grater or something similar, grate the cheese, do not shred it. Grating the cheese allows it to melt more easily and smoothly when tossed with pasta, whereas shredding the cheese can leave a stringy texture that doesn’t fully emulsify properly.
If you’re not a fan of pecorino, Parmigiano Reggiano is a good substitute, or mix them 50/50. The cheese is similar in texture and isn’t as salty. Both cheeses can be found in grocery stores where they sell imported cheeses, not the dairy section with sliced and shredded cheeses.
2) Black Pepper – The judicious use of freshly, coarsely ground black pepper is important to the flavor of this dish. You cannot substitute finely ground black pepper for peppercorns here.
3) Creaminess – Cacio e pepe is a simple recipe with few ingredients but can be frustratingly difficult to execute perfectly. There are a few steps you can take to make the sauce creamy instead of clumpy. First, choose the properly aged cheese and grate it, don’t shred it. The cheese should be an aged and harder cheese, not a young and softer cheese.
The other hugely important step is to watch the heat. Don’t take a ladle full of boiling pasta water and pour it straight into the grated cheese, let it cool slightly first. Also, remove the pan from the heat before adding the cheese paste and mixing it together. When the water or the pasta is too hot, the cheese will melt, but will also coagulate and form stretchy strands instead of emulsifying with the starchy pasta water.
Nutrition
Calories: 522kcalCarbohydrates: 69gProtein: 28gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 606mgPotassium: 299mgFiber: 4gSugar: 3gCalcium: 572mgIron: 2mg
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