🇮🇹 Italy · Italian
Roman Cacio e Pepe
Three ingredients, zero margin for error. Pecorino, pepper and starchy water emulsified into a silk sauce.
- Time
- 20 min
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- hard
- Rating
- 4.6 (3,312)
- vegetarian
Why this dish works
Shepherds in Lazio carried pecorino, pepper and dried pasta because all three kept. The dish survives because it is perfect — and it fails the moment the pan is too hot and the cheese seizes.
Method
- 1
Toast the pepper
Dry-toast the cracked pepper in a wide pan for 30 seconds, then add a ladle of pasta water and let it steep.
- 2
Undercook the pasta
Boil the pasta in less water than usual so it is extra starchy, and pull it 2 minutes short of al dente.
- 3
Make the cream
Off the heat, whisk the pecorino with just enough warm — never boiling — pasta water to make a thick paste.
- 4
Emulsify
Add the drained pasta to the peppered pan, then the cheese paste, tossing hard off the heat. If it splits, a splash of cold water and vigorous tossing will usually bring it back.
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