Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe: Il Classico Romano Rivisitato che Devi Provare!

Cacio e pepe, alongside carbonara and gricia, is one of the most famous and appreciated first courses of Roman cuisine. If you want to try your hand at preparing traditional cacio e pepe, arm yourself with a little patience and don't be discouraged by the first attempt: experience in this case plays a fundamental role and with a few attempts you will be able to correct errors from time to time.

The Art of Cacio e Pepe

"If life is a bite, here you bite well". This is one of the typical phrases that introduce the menus in Roman trattorias or fraschette. But spaghetti cacio e pepe, like carbonara and amatriciana, have now become symbols of Italianness, made with PDO ingredients linked to the traditions of the territories in which they were born.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

This is the most common mistake in the preparation of cacio e pepe pasta in which I think everyone - from the most skilled chefs to Roman housewives for 7 generations - has encountered at least once in their life. So if it happened to you, don't get down, you're in good company!

You added the cooking water to the pecorino without mixing immediately or without letting it cool slightly: the excessive heat melted the cheese and created the famous lumps.
You used pecorino that was too aged: the more aged a cheese is, the drier it is and therefore it will tend to "spin" when it comes into contact with the heat that coagulates the proteins inside it. Even with an aged pecorino it is possible to prepare a creamy cacio e pepe, but it is certainly more difficult.

Unfortunately, once the cacio e pepe sauce has formed lumps, it is impossible to recover it and must be prepared again from scratch. The difficulty of this recipe lies precisely in the particular chemical balance of its components. If you want to practice preparing pecorino cream with a similar but slightly simpler recipe, I recommend pasta alla gricia: same ingredients but with the addition of guanciale.

Ingredients for Authentic Cacio e Pepe

The ingredients for Cacio e pepe are only 3, as per the original recipe: pasta, usually tonnarelli, thicker spaghetti made with egg pasta (fresh or dried), Pecorino Romano DOP and black pepper, which must be used in grains, ground at the moment. Another fundamental ingredient is the pasta cooking water, rich in starch, which will be used to create the famous pecorino cream.

For a classic recipe:

180 g Pasta (Mezzi Rigatoni, or your preferred shape)
120 g Pecorino Romano
q.b. Black Pepper (powdered or peppercorns)
q.b. Salt

Another recipe:

350 g spaghetti
100 g grated Pecorino Romano
q.b. coarse salt
q.b. black pepper

Pasta cacio e pepe: recipe and ingredients

400 g pasta (tonnarelli or spaghetti)
280 g pecorino romano
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
q.b. black peppercorns (ground, to sprinkle)

Step-by-Step Preparation

Here are a few methods for preparing Cacio e pepe. The secret is to prepare the pecorino cream separately, with a pasty consistency, which will then be dissolved directly with the pasta. A cacio e pepe without lumps and without the cheese thickening in any way. Another secret is to sauté the tonnarelli or spaghetti directly in the pan, in order to cook the last minutes together with the pepper, assimilating all the aroma.

Method 1

Take the pecorino romano and grate it with a minipimer. Put it in a bowl.
Take a saucepan, put the water inside and bring to a boil. Pour in the pasta, salt and cook.
Meanwhile, set aside two tablespoons of grated pecorino romano that you will use to season the dish once ready.
In the bowl where there is the remaining pecorino, add a nice sprinkling of black pepper and mix. The traditional recipe calls for black peppercorns which must be ground at the moment and then toasted in a pan to release all its aromas.
About 5 minutes before the pasta is cooked, without throwing away the cooking water that will be used, drain the pasta inside a saucepan where you have put about 2-3 ladles of the cooking water. Stir it very often with a spatula.
Only at this point, pour a little cooking water into the bowl where there is the pecorino, very little, and mix immediately and vigorously with a hand whisk.
You must obtain a rather thick cream. Try to avoid the formation of lumps by mixing well with the whisk. If necessary, add a few more drops of cooking water, until you obtain the right consistency.
In the meantime, continue to mix the pasta that is finishing cooking in the pan. This step allows, thanks to the release of starch, to obtain a creamy pasta that will then be even more so with the addition of the pecorino romano cream.
Once the pasta is cooked, turn off the gas, move the pan away from the hob and pour the pecorino and pepper cream over it, mix immediately with a ladle until the pecorino becomes a more fluid and homogeneous cream.
Sprinkle again with a little black pepper, plate, add the pecorino that you had set aside and serve immediately!

Method 2

Put the spaghetti to boil in abundant lightly salted water for half the time indicated on the package.
Separately, put the crushed or chopped pepper in a pan and toast it for a minute on minimum heat.
Add a ladle or two of pasta cooking water.
In a bowl, mix the pecorino with a ladle of cooking water inserted a little at a time.

Method 3

To prepare the spaghetti cacio e pepe, first put a pot with water on the stove to cook the pasta: fill it with about half the water you usually use, in this way it will be richer in starch.
Meanwhile, grate the Pecorino Romano 1 and transfer almost all of it to a bowl, keeping some aside for plating.
When the water boils, salt moderately and dip the spaghetti 2.
Pour the pepper into a large non-stick pan 4 and toast it over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Deglaze with a couple of ladles of the pasta cooking water 5.
Drain the spaghetti 2-3 minutes earlier than the time indicated on the package and transfer them to the pan, taking care to preserve the cooking water 7.
Finish cooking the spaghetti in the pan, sautéing them, adding hot water as needed 8 and stirring continuously with the tongs 9.
You can prepare the Pecorino cream (do not start before because it would tend to harden or be too cold compared to the temperature of the pasta): pour a ladle of hot cooking water into the bowl with the grated Pecorino 10, then mix vigorously with a hand whisk 11.
The consistency you should obtain is more pasty than creamy, don't worry if it will be very dry.
When the spaghetti are cooked, turn off the heat and add the Pecorino cream 13, stirring continuously with the tongs 14. For the ideal creaminess, adjust by adding more Pecorino or a little cooking water as needed.

Method 4

First, grind the black peppercorns at the moment. You can use a mortar, pounding the pepper with energy in a rotating direction, or a meat tenderizer or a grinder: it is important that the powder obtained is coarse. So do not use pre-packaged powdered pepper (it is important for the success of the recipe).
Bring the water for the pasta to a boil, salt lightly (I put about half the salt, since the pecorino is already savory) and start boiling the pasta.
Heat a non-stick pan and pour a nice spoonful of ground pepper. Toast it for a few minutes, over medium heat. As soon as you hear its aroma released, immediately pour 3 ladles of cooking water. You will see that a white foam will begin to form: it is the combination of the pepper with the starches of the pasta contained in the water.
Prepare the pecorino cream: pour the grated pecorino into a bowl and add 2 ladles of cooking water, a little at a time. Mix with a spatula, until you get a pasty consistency. If necessary, add another drop of water. Keep aside.
When there are 2 minutes left until the end of cooking, take the spaghetti with tongs and pour them directly into the pan where you have heated the pepper and bring them to cook sautéing them for a few minutes, moving them often with tongs to mix them with the pepper. You can also drain the pasta with a colander, but keep a nice glass of cooking water aside, to add to prevent the preparation from drying out too much.
Once the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat, let it rest for 1 minute, and add the pecorino cream, together with 2 ladles of cooking water, always a little at a time. It is important that this operation is carried out off the heat.
Move the pasta energetically with tongs, so that the pecorino melts together with the pasta. A few minutes will be enough.

Serving Suggestions

Your Spaghetti cacio e pepe are ready to be served. You will see how creamy it is! Prepare the portions and complete the dishes with a generous sprinkling of black pepper (always freshly ground) and, if you want, a sprinkling of pecorino. The Spaghetti cacio e pepe must be served immediately, hot and steaming, in all their creaminess.

Variations and Twists

This recipe is so good that it has inspired many reinterpretations… some examples?

Risotto cacio e pepe: inspired by one of the most loved Roman recipes!
Tonnarelli cacio e pepe: a first course of Roman cuisine: to be made and remade at home with Pecorino romano and pepper!
Pici cacio e pepe: a creamy first course made with fresh pasta.
Supplì cacio e pepe: super appetizing croquettes that combine two iconic dishes of Roman cuisine.
Grissini cacio e pepe: delicious snacks to enjoy for an aperitif.
Pallotte cacio e pepe with fondue: fragrant fried cheese balls, a delicious and tasty idea for an aperitif!
Chicken cacio e pepe bombs baked: a tasty second course of meat.
Strozzapreti cacio, mussels and pepper: a creamy and tasty first course with a cacio e pepe base and the addition of seafood.
Green guitar spaghetti cacio e pepe: a creamy vegetarian first course with homemade pasta, ideal for the Easter menu.
Spaghetti cacio pepe and lemon: a variation of the classic cacio e pepe, easy and quick to prepare. A first course of Lazio origin, prepared with poor and easily available ingredients.

Leggi anche: Frittata Napoletana di Spaghetti

Leggi anche: Ingredienti Spaghetti San Giuannid

tags: #spaghetti #cacio #e #pepe #giallo #zafferano