Turn down the heat to Medium-Low, and make sure not to let the pepper burn if your pasta isn’t ready yet. When the pasta is cooking in the pan, the pasta releases a lot of starch, contributing to the creaminess of the sauce. Made with pecorino romano, black pepper and pasta, this recipe is the traditional one you’ll find in any Roman restaurant. You can follow his foodie adventures on the. Get the exclusive content you crave straight to your inbox. Believe it or not, the beautiful creamy consistency of the sauce (called a cremina in Italian), is NOT achieved with cream, but by the combination of pecorino romano and the starchy pasta water. Note: Classic cacio e pepe doesn’t use butter, but we think it makes the sauce extra rich and silky (and delicious!). When pecorino paste is added to the pasta, mix it in quickly. It took me years to make a decent Cacio e Pepe, one of Rome's traditional pasta dishes (the others are Carbonara, Matriciana, and Gricia). First, grate the pecorino. Prep Time 10 mins. Required fields are marked *. Boil the pasta for half the amount of time that the package indicates (eg. The sweet and piquant flavor of the freshly cracked black pepper is the cherry on top! The extra surface area drags up even more of the tasty sauce, made from an emulsion of pecorino romano cheese and starchy pasta water. Even if you end up with a few clumps later on, they don’t taste bad or anything, they’re just clumps. When the pasta is al dente, remove the pasta from the heat. Set it aside. The point is to get the starch to release into the pan. Visiting Rome? The easiest, most delicious recipe for authentic cacio e pepe using only 4 ingredients. It helps the sauce to not clump, and achieve that beautiful silky texture. Copyright © 2020 Pina Bresciani | Privacy Policy. They would combine their sheeps’ cheese with a few grinds of black pepper, and cook up the dried pasta. The silky smoothness comes from using a touch of the starchy pasta water; it melts the cheese and binds it to the pasta! One of the secrets (there are many!) A cacio e pepe is so simple, the whole recipe is 3 ingredients! Hello! Cook Time 10 mins. to a classic 3-ingredient cacio e pepe is starch. It can take 20 minutes to grate it all, so line up an episode of something that you know well enough to listen to but don’t have to watch (don’t want to grate those digits). Tonnarelli, rigatoni, spaghetti, or even mezze maniche. Recipe Type: Pasta; Cuisine: Roman; Prep time: 10 mins; Cook time: 10 mins; Total time: 20 mins; Serves: 4; Ingredients. Born and raised in Australia, David is currently based in Seville, where he spends his time leading food and wine tours, blogging about Spanish cuisine, and taking his daily siesta. They all have one thing in common, they all claim they’re the best in Rome. Pre-ground pepper might be ok, but fresh is the best. I followed the method from this video, which is in Italian, but even if you just watch it, it’s very helpful to see the technique in action. if it says, 10 minutes on the package, boil it for 5 minutes). The sauce was a success when I used a pecorino romano from Italy. You are right, pecorino can seem strong but turns into such a great pasta sauce! The pasta will continue to cook a bit as you do this. It sounds simple, but sometimes, the most simple recipes require the best techniques. Pecorino romano is made with sheep’s milk (pecora means “sheep”), while romano is made from cow’s milk. And it just won’t be the same if it’s reheated. The trick – try to use the least amount of water possible that will still cover the pasta. This will help help ensure that when the paste is formed, clumps will not form. Now, you could also use parmesan if that’s what you can find or what you prefer. If you’ve tried making this Authentic Cacio e Pepe Recipe, or any other recipe on the blog please let me know what you thought of it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! Like all things Roman, cacio e pepe also thrives on controversy and interpretation. While the pasta is cooking in the pan, add a small amount of pasta water to the grated pecorino. I used a microplane to grate the pecorino. The recipe did not turn out (ie. My name is Pina and I love Italian food and culture! There are dozens and dozens of versions, some admit to being adaptations, others insist they are the original recipe. A longtime cacio e pepe fanatic, I can wholeheartedly say that this recipe was the total package: flavorful, light, and the pepper and cheese worked together nicely – no one flavor overpowered my tastebuds. At first I was apprehensive about pecorino but after trying the creamiest, silkiest pasta EVER, I have to say sheep’s cheese in Cacio Pepe is the bees knees. This article goes into more detail. Oh, and did I mention how much I LOVE Cacio Bebe’s Cacio Pepe? When the pasta is al dente (still has a slight crunch to it, usually 1-3 minutes less than the cooking time on the package), use tongs or a pasta spoon to add the pasta into the pan with the pepper. Omelette du Fromage: A Simple & Impressive Breakfast Recipe, The Best Food at Trader Joe’s: Mac & Cheese Bites, Eataly Food Favourites: What To Buy And Eat, 5 Gift Ideas for Comfort & Every Day Wear, The 5 Layer English Muffin Breakfast Sandwich, (parmesan is made from cow’s milk while pecorino is from sheep’s milk), The 7 Best Products from Trader Joe’s you Might not have Tried Yet », Pasta (I love fresh but most of the time just use regular dried spaghetti or fettuccine), Pecorino (as much as possible, around 100g or 1.5 – 2 cups when grated). Pasta to use: spaghetti is traditional, but you can also use bucatini, or if you prefer short pasta, rigatoni, mezze maniche, or casarecce or penne work too. Cacio e pepe. One of the four roman pastas (can you name the other three?) the sauce turned out clumpy/curdled), when I used a domestic romano cheese. Once you’ve added all the pasta, dump in the grated pecorino and stir / fold vigorously. Add a ½ cup of the pasta water to the skillet and bring to a simmer. if it says, 10 minutes on the package, boil it for 5 minutes). Reduce heat to low and add the cheese. When pasta is cooking in the pan, ensure to move it around constantly. Set 1.5 tsp of the pepper aside- this is the pepper you will be using (photo 2), Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook it for half of the amount of time indicated on the box. Getting a good amount of starch from the pasta water and pasta itself, via a process called mantecatura, is key to a creamy final sauce. You will get the best flavor this way. You can follow his foodie adventures on the Everyday Food Blog. One of the four roman pastas (can you name the other three?) A cacio e pepe is no exception to these rules. Cacio e pepe, carbonara and pasta alla gricia all use only a handful of local ingredients to make something that tastes way more delicious than the sum of their parts! When it’s hot, crack in some fresh black pepper. They can be found all over the city. Stir the pasta throughout cooking so it doesn’t stick and cooks evenly. It will bubble up, When pasta is al dente (usually 1-3 minutes less than package directions), add pasta to pan with pepper (but ensure you don't throw out the pasta water! You know? In the mean time, finely grate the pecorino (photo 1), With a mortar and pestle, grind up the peppercorns to a fine consistency. A blog for life, work, food (of course) and other lifestyle things. The pasta will finish cooking in the pan, so if it boils too much, it will cook too quickly in the pan and not release enough starch. Lightly salt the water when it comes to a boil. The sauce is made from two ingredients: cacio (cheese, specifically pecorino romano), and pepe (pepper). This will help it release its starch. The recipe here is relatively authentic and you only need four ingredients. For shepherds caring for their flocks outside of Rome, cacio e pepe was the perfect way to keep hunger at bay on long treks from home. Born and raised in Australia, David is currently based in Seville, where he spends his time leading food and wine tours, blogging about Spanish cuisine, and taking his daily siesta. Perfect every time – a major crowd-pleaser! There’s no cream in the recipe. It’s one of the most typical foods in Rome, and one that has to be at the top of your foodie bucket list. Authentic Cacio e Pepe with 4 Ingredients. While the pasta is cooking in the pan, add a small amount of pasta water to the grated pecorino.