Cacio e Pepe (Printable)

Classic Roman pasta with Pecorino Romano cheese and freshly cracked black pepper in a silky, creamy sauce.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 14 oz spaghetti or tonnarelli

→ Cheese

02 - 4.2 oz Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated

→ Seasonings

03 - 2 tsp whole black peppercorns, freshly cracked
04 - 1 tsp kosher salt for pasta water

→ Optional

05 - 1 tbsp unsalted butter for extra creaminess

# Directions:

01 - Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt, then cook the spaghetti until just al dente, about 1 minute less than package instructions. Reserve 1.5 cups of pasta cooking water before draining.
02 - While the pasta cooks, toast the freshly cracked black pepper in a large dry skillet over medium heat for about 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add 1 cup of reserved hot pasta water to the skillet with the pepper. Reduce heat to low.
04 - Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss to coat, allowing the pasta to absorb the peppery water.
05 - Remove the skillet from the heat. Gradually sprinkle in the Pecorino Romano, tossing and stirring vigorously to create a creamy sauce. Add more reserved pasta water a splash at a time if the sauce is too thick.
06 - If desired, add butter and toss until melted and emulsified.
07 - Serve immediately, topped with extra Pecorino Romano and additional cracked black pepper.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It proves that three ingredients can create something that tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen.
  • The creamy sauce forms without any cream, just starchy pasta water and good cheese working together like magic.
  • You can make it on a weeknight without a grocery run, and it still feels like a special meal.
  • Every bite has that peppery bite that wakes up your taste buds in the best way.
02 -
  • The skillet must be off the heat when you add the cheese, or it will clump and turn grainy instead of melting smoothly.
  • Tossing vigorously is not optional, it's the motion that emulsifies the cheese and water into a sauce instead of a separated mess.
  • If your sauce breaks or looks oily, add a splash more pasta water and keep tossing, it usually comes back together.
03 -
  • Use a microplane or the finest side of your grater for the Pecorino so it melts instantly and doesn't clump.
  • Reserve more pasta water than you think you'll need, because you can always add more but you can't take it back, and it's your safety net if the sauce tightens up.
  • Toast the pepper until you can really smell it, not just see it move in the pan, that's when the oils release and the flavor blooms.
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