Cacio e Pepe
Edward Bottone is a food and lifestyle journalist, a former chef and restaurateur, TV and radio presenter, and culinary educator.
This recipe is featured in Pepper Perceptions: Challenge Your Taste Buds
Cacio e Pepe, meaning “cheese and pepper” in Italian, is a minimalist pasta dish with roots in ancient Rome. Traditionally favored by shepherds for its easily transportable ingredients, this dish has stood the test of time. Recently it has become quite trendy. Its success relies heavily on the quality of two key components: freshly ground black pepper and Pecorino Romano cheese. The right black pepper, fragrant and spicy, is essential. This dish showcases how simple ingredients, when chosen with care, can create a deeply satisfying meal.
In Rome, try Cacio e Pepe at Da Enzo 29 Via Dei Vascellari 29, Rome. It’s busy; expect to wait, and to eat outside.
- Servings For 4-6
Ingredients
- Salt, as needed
- 454 grams (1 pound) bucatini, thick spaghetti, or spaghetti
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) good quality olive oil
- 30 ml (2 tablespoons) or so freshly ground black pepper
- 28 grams (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 170 grams (about 6 ounces) Pecorino Romano, finely grated, plus more for serving
Preparation
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil, filling pot slightly less than normal.*
2. Add pasta and cook, stirring frequently, until al dente, about 10 minutes (see package directions). Drain pasta, reserving about 1 liter (4 cups) pasta cooking liquid in another saucepan, and keep warm.
3. In the same pot used to cook the pasta, heat the oil, pepper, and butter over high heat, stirring, until fragrant. Add about a cup of pasta cooking liquid, bring to a boil, stirring until reduced by half.
4. Add pasta and about 237 ml (1 cup) of pasta cooking liquid and cook over high heat, stirring vigorously to help draw starch from pasta, until sauce is thickened, about 4-5 minutes.
5. Lower heat to a simmer, and add about another cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Add Pecorino Romano in large handfuls, stirring and tossing vigorously with tongs, until very creamy sauce forms. (Add more cooking liquid if the sauce is too thick, more cheese if too thin). Add the coarsely ground black pepper of your choice.
6. Transfer to warm serving bowls; serve immediately with more Pecorino Romano on the side; pass the pepper mill.
*This increases the amount of starch leached from the pasta.
Edward Bottone
Edward Bottone is a food and lifestyle journalist based in Philadelphia, whose works have appeared in Philadelphia Magazine, The Bermudian, London Times Express, Islands Magazine, and the online magazine Table Matters where he was also Editor. He has also published academic papers on Tourism and Taste.
He is a former chef and restaurateur with establishments in Philadelphia and Bermuda, a TV and Radio presenter, and Assistant Professor teaching a range of courses, including Gastronomy and Culture, at Drexel University and Delaware Valley University. Reach him at curiouscook77@gmail.com
Courtesy photo
