The name is the recipe! Well, almost. In Italian, ‘cacio’ means cheese and ‘pepe’ means pepper. These are the 2 main ingredients of this 4-ingredient pasta which gets ready in just 20 minutes. That’s not bad at all for an authentic Italian meal, eh?!?!
Paired with a glass of wine, this quick and easy recipe makes for the perfect date night dinner! Vegan and gluten-free versions can be made easily too (check notes).
P.S. Approved and stamped by my Italian friends!
Cacio e Pepe
Enjoy the steps!
Ingredients
- 250 grams of pasta of choice (tonnarelli, linguine, or thick spaghetti)
- 100 grams of freshly grated pecorino romano cheese (or parmesan cheese)
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Optional: salt as per taste
Directions
- In a big pot of salted water, boil the pasta until al dente (follow the pasta package instructions). Take out 2 cups of the starchy pasta water and keep it aside in a bowl (avoid using plastic containers to store hot stuff). Switch the gas off and drain the pasta.
- In a separate skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Add black pepper and stir, swirling the pan, until toasted (about a minute). Add 1 cup of pasta water and let it simmer for a minute. Switch off the gas and let this water-butter-pepper mix sit for a couple of minutes. This resting time ensures that the sauce isn’t too hot to add the cheese or else it will become lumpy.
- Add half the cheese and whisk until smooth. Now add the second half and whisk again. If required, add pasta water in moderate quantities, until the cheese has completely melted and you see a smooth, creamy sauce.
- Add pasta and toss to coat the sauce evenly. Transfer into warm bowls, top it with some grated cheese, black pepper, and serve hot!
Tips:
- You could use olive oil instead of butter but the flavours will come out the best with butter.
- Use tongs to coat the sauce on the pasta or else it might break.
- Depending on the quality and origin of the cheese, pecorino and parmesan might contain animal enzymes. Make sure you read the ingredients carefully to make a plant-based meal. Most organic versions use non-animal-based enzymes to make these cheese.
- To make a vegan version, use vegan butter and parmesan cheese.
- To make a gluten-free meal, use gluten-free pasta.
