🇮🇹 Italian Vegetarian

Cacio e Pepe

Name: Cacio e Pepe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: for pasta water Salt; 1 cup, finely grated Parmesan Cheese; 250 g Spaghetti; 2 tsp, coarsely cracked Black Pepper

🇮🇹 Italian

Roman spaghetti with just Pecorino-style cheese, black pepper and starchy pasta water — three ingredients, infinite technique.

Prep 5 min Cook 15 min Serves 2 Medium

Ingredients

Saltfor pasta water
Parmesan Cheese1 cup, finely grated
Spaghetti250 g
Black Pepper2 tsp, coarsely cracked

Optional extras

Butter1 tbsp optional

Instructions

1
Toast coarsely cracked black pepper in a dry pan until fragrant.
2
Boil spaghetti in moderately salted water; reserve pasta water generously.
3
Melt a splash of pasta water with the pepper into a loose emulsion.
4
Off heat, toss pasta with grated Parmesan/Pecorino-style cheese and more water until creamy.
5
Serve immediately with extra pepper — it waits for no one.

Chef's tip

Cheese goes on OFF heat — on heat it clumps into strings instead of a sauce.

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Watch how it's made

Video: The Science of Cacio e Pepe (and the BEST Recipe) · on YouTube