ReceptnaptárCacio e pepe
Cacio e pepe, or cheese and pepper, is the simplest of Roman pastas and the hardest to get perfect: three ingredients make a silky, peppery, cheesy sauce. The secret is technique: the cheese must never go in over a hot flame, or it turns clumpy.
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Ingredients
Method
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- Bring plenty of water to a boil, salt it very lightly (the cheese is salty too) and cook the pasta al dente; set aside 200 ml of the cooking water.
- Meanwhile, toast the peppercorns in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 30 seconds until fragrant, then crush them coarsely in a mortar.
- In a bowl, stir the cheese with 5 tbsp of lukewarm (not hot!) cooking water into a cream.
- Put half the pasta into the pepper pan with 1 ladle of cooking water and stir slowly.
- Off the heat, add the cheese cream and toss quickly, adding cooking water as needed, to make a silky sauce.
- Serve at once, with extra pecorino and pepper.
A Receptnaptár original recipe. Calories and protein are estimated.
Tips
- Grate the pecorino as finely as you can so it melts faster; a fine powder emulsifies better.
- Always add the cheese off the heat; the temperature of the cooking water is enough to melt it.
- The starch in the cooking water is the key to the sauce: don't pour all of it away when you drain the pasta.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the sauce go clumpy?
If the pan is too hot, the cheese proteins tighten up. Take it off the heat and add the water gradually.
Can I use Parmesan?
In a smaller proportion, yes, but the original recipe uses pecorino romano, which is what makes it salty and slightly sharp.
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