Pasta Cacio e Pepe (Roman Cheese and Pepper)

italian pastacacioepepe Cacio e Pepe is a pasta dish from Roman cuisine. "Cacio e Pepe" means "cheese and pepper" in several central Italian dialects. As the name suggests, the ingredients of the dish are very simple and include only black pepper, Pecorino Romano cheese, and pasta. Once again, ‘simple’ does not mean ‘easy’; the aim is to obtain a delicious and creamy sauce by skilfully mixing the grated cheese (and ground pepper) with the hot, drained pasta, stirring until it perfectly melts. It’s vital to add some of the pasta’s hot cooking water, which is rich in starch, to the dish to soften the cheese. Because this is a classic Roman dish, you should use a hard cheese from the Roma region of Italy when making this dish for the most authentic flavor. Pecorino Romano is the traditional choice. If you do not have pecorino Romano available to you, grated Parmesan is an acceptable substitute, though not an authentic choice as it comes from the Parma region of Italy. The traditional choice of pasta for Cacio e Pepe is tonnarelli pasta, a thick round long pasta similar to a thick spaghetti or bucatini. Since these are both similar in shape, they both make acceptable substitutes where tonnarelli is not available.

Pasta:
1 lb long pasta (spaghetti, tonnarelli, bucatini, linguine or fettuccine)
4 Tbsp. sea salt

Sauce:
1 cup pasta water
1¼ cups Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated
2 Tbsp. black pepper, freshly ground

Garnish:
¼ cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, freshly grated

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in salt. Cook your pasta until al dente.

Remove cooked pasta with tongs reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Place the pasta in a large mixing bowl.

Working quickly, add in 1¼ cups pecorino romano cheese immediately. Add in ½ cup of pasta water and pepper.

Stir with tongs quickly to allow the heat from the pasta and water to melt the cheese. Add the remaining ½ cup of pasta water until you have a thick, creamy sauce coating the pasta.

Serve hot, sprinkled with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Makes 4-6 servings.