How to Make Cacio e Pepe: Only 3 Ingredients in Just 15 Minutes.

gailannbrown701
Jan 17
5 min read

Watching TV chefs prepare Cacio e Pepe might make it seem daunting. However, Cacio e Pepe is actually one of the simplest and most budget-friendly Roman dishes. With just spaghetti, cheese, and pepper, you can create this tasty gourmet pasta dish in less than 15 minutes for under $5.

Traditional Roma Cacio de Pepe requires only cheese, spaghetti, and pepper and relies on technique instead of butter and cream. This sensible dish is the ultimate gourmet on a budget—it can feed four people for under $5.

Cacio e Pepe is the most uniquely Roman of pastas and the greatest thing in the history of the world. –Anthony Bourdain

Ingredients

Cheese

The cheese is the biggest expense in this dish. A true citizen of Rome will tell you that you need Pecorino Romano cheese to make Cacio e Pepe. That's easy in Rome but not so easy in many parts of the world. Here in Tampa Bay, I have a few options, like the Italian market in St. Petersburg, but the cost of good cheese there is often prohibitive. Most supermarkets carry Romano cheese, but it is made from cow's milk, not true sheep's milk cheese like Pecorino. I found affordable Pecorino Romano cheese in only two places: Costco and Sam's Club. Sometimes, they have a block of hard cheese, and sometimes it is pre-grated. The good news about the pre-grated cheese is that it contains no additives or anti-caking agents. This means it melts wonderfully. Ultimately, I could only find pre-grated Pecorino Romano at $11/pound in a one-pound container. I am not upset at this. I easily use this much cheese in the 3 months (or more) it will keep. A pound of Pecorino is equivalent to 4.5 cups of grated cheese.

The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of Pecorino and 1/2 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano. This is

because the Pecorino cheese commonly available in the U.S. is too salty to use exclusively in the dish. You get a better result if you mix half Pecorino and half Parmesan.

As for the quality of the cheese, this dish is priced at around $4 for four servings, featuring good bronze-cut pasta and authentic Pecorino and Parmigiano Reggiano. You might save $1 by using cheap cheese, but buy the good cheese if you use enough so there is no spoilage. If you don't, you can find a good Parmesan at Aldi for $4 for 8 ounces and an acceptable Romano at Walmart for around the same price. I use 1-2 pounds of Pecorino and Parmigiano every 2-3 months, so buying the larger, higher-quality amount works for me. However, the big picture is that the cheaper cheese still makes a good dish, albeit a less creamy one. Additionally, you may need to add salt.

Pasta

I use spaghetti in this dish, as they do in Rome. I try to use good spaghetti, which is bronze die-cut spaghetti. The pasta is rough, like sandpaper, because it is produced with bronze cutters. Unlike those made with Teflon. It makes much starchier water, and the sauce "clings" to it in a way that it doesn't with lesser-quality pasta. I used Rao's

spaghetti, the best widely available pasta in American markets, for this dish. This pasta cost me $2.25 per pound on sale at Target and $2.50 at Walmart. Aldi has a good alternative available for around $2 per pound. This is about twice the price of bare-bones economy pasta, but it's worth it in this recipe. If you can afford a couple of dollars (or pounds, or Euros, or Canadian dollars) more and can find reasonably priced bronze-cut pasta, use that instead. The quality of the pasta is worth an extra $0.50 in this recipe.

Foolproof Cacio e Pepe

Step One - Set Up

Add approximately one liter of water to a large pot. The secret is to cook the pasta in a modest amount of water, allowing the starch in the pasta to become more concentrated. Put another sauté pan on another burner. The two pots should be close together. Get a ladle and a pasta lifter or pair of tongs. Grind around a teaspoon of pepper in a pepper mill or a mortar and pestle. Grate your cheese very finely and keep it near the burner.

Step Two - Cook Pasta and Toast and Sauce Peppercorns

When your pasta water is boiling, set a stopwatch timer for your spaghetti. Turn on the second burner to medium and toast the pepper until it starts giving off an aroma. Put a ladle of pasta water from the pasta pot into the pepper sauté pan. Stir the pepper mixture and wait for the water to become thick and start making a sauce. Add another ladle of pasta water as the water evaporates, but keep at a low simmer. Continue stirring.

Step Three - Add Cooked Pasta to Peppercorns

Cook your pasta until it is al dente, which typically takes around 9 minutes for the type of pasta I'm using. If in doubt, undercook rather than overcook. The package of pasta you are using should indicate a cooking time for al dente. When the time is up, use tongs or a pasta fork to scoop up the pasta and put it in the pan with the pepper. It's okay if the pasta water transfers with the pasta. Turn off your pasta water.

Step Four - Stir in Pasta Water

Stir the pasta in the pepper and pasta water. It will become starchy, creamy water. Add another ladle of pasta water. Stir until a thick, even sauce covers the pasta.

Step Five - Take the Pan Off Heat and Wait

When your pasta is done perfectly, and the sauce is thickened, it's time to take your pan off the burner. Wait 2 minutes, stirring the pasta all the time. If it gets dry, add more pasta water.

Step Six - Stir in Cheese and More Pasta Water

Put about 1/4 c. of the cheese and stir until it dissolves into the sauce. Add another

ladle of pasta water. Stir until everything is incorporated. Add another 1/4 c. of cheese, stir until creamy, and add more pasta water, if necessary. Stir until the

mixture is creamy. "Flip" the pan or pull the pasta over on itself with a pair of tongs. Add the remaining cheese and enough pasta water to make a creamy sauce. If you add too much, stir a bit longer. If the pasta sauce becomes dry, add a little more water. Get the mixture the consistency that you like it.