Authentic spaghetti cacio e pepe
- Danilo Cortellini
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Serves 4
Easy
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 10 mins
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A true pasta lover must try cacio e pepe: just pasta, Pecorino Romano and black pepper. We show how to master this dish perfectly
High-protein
Low sugar
Nut-free
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You can’t call yourself a true pasta lover if you have never tasted ‘cacio e pepe’ before! A quintessential Roman dish with only three ingredients, pasta, cacio (cheese) and black pepper. The recipe looks simple but it is in fact quite tricky to master with confidence, as with so few ingredients, there is no room for error.
Here, I’ve tried to stay as close to tradition as possible using only Pecorino Romano.
Ingredients
Nutrition
Units:
MetricUS
-
250g grated Pecorino Romano
plus extra to serve
-
1 tbsp black pepper
plus extra for scattering
-
400g thick good-quality spaghetti
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Nutrition: (4)
-
kcal592
-
fat18g
-
saturates11g
-
carbs74g
-
sugars3g
low
-
fibre5g
-
protein29g
high
-
salt1.5g
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Method
-
step 1
To make the cheese paste, put the Pecorino in a bowl with a few drops of hot water, and mix with a spatula until it reaches the consistency of a grainy paste. Set aside.
-
step 2
In a large saucepan over a low heat, gently toast the 1 tbsp ground black pepper for for 2-3 mins, then cool the pan down by adding a ladleful of water. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water. When you are halfway through the cooking time suggested on the packet, scoop out the pasta with a slotted spoon (leaving the cooking water in the pan) and toss the pasta into the pan with the peppery water. Keep cooking the pasta by adding a ladleful of the reserved cooking water at a time. Stir gently for the first minute as you don’t want to break the spaghetti, and continue stirring occasionally as it cooks. By the time the pasta is done, the remaining liquid should already be kind of creamy thanks to the starch released.
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step 3
Turn off the heat completely, making sure there is at least one ladleful of cooking water left in the pan you cooked the pasta in. Gradually add the cheese paste to the pasta, stirring. If the spaghetti becomes too sticky, add a ladle of the reserved pasta water (it should be hot but no longer boiling, as high heat can cause the cheese to split and create lumps) and keep mixing. The cheese, cooking water and the starch will all bind together to make a creamy, emulsified sauce.
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step 4
Serve immediately in shallow bowls, finishing with a scattering of pepper and a sprinkle of grated cheese – enjoy!
Chef's tip
Creating a simple cheese paste with a little hot water before adding the cheese to the hot pasta helps prevent the cheese from splitting. Cooking the pasta in two halves – first boiled, and then in the pan adding water gradually (like you would a risotto) helps retain some of the starch in the sauce, helping you to achieve the much sought-after creaminess of cacio e pepe.
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