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Italian Cuisine Expert and Food Blogger
Guido Pedrelli
Guido Pedrelli, the mastermind behind Nonna Box, has honed his culinary expertise for decades, inspired by family feasts in Emilia-Romagna. Mentored by his restaurateur nonna, he mastered Italian classics and furthered his skills with professional culinary studies in desserts and gelato making from Mec3. Today, he shares this rich legacy and authentic recipes through Nonna Box.
Perfectly cooked spaghetti is tossed together in a simple sauce full of lots of fresh black pepper and salty pecorino romano cheese to make this unbelievably good authentic Cacio e Pepe Recipe that dates back to Roman times! Made with just 3 basic ingredients this quick and easy Italian dish comes together in just 20 minutes making it a fantastic weeknight dinner that is both impressive and delicious!
This classic pasta dish is a well-known Roman recipe that has been around for centuries. It’s a very simple 3-ingredient pasta traditionally made with dried spaghetti, pecorino cheese, and black peppercorns. Together these basic ingredients with a bit of the pasta cooking water create a fabulous pasta that is super peppery, cheesy, and coated in a creamy light sauce. In many ways, cacio e pepe is very similar to other Roman classics like carbonara and pasta alla gricia.
As for its history, Cacio e pepe is said to have its roots in transhumant shepherding back in Roman times when shepherds had to make long journeys with their flocks. They would fill their saddlebags with long-lasting simple ingredients like aged cheese, dried pasta, and black peppercorns, which is how this loved Roman recipe was born. And another perfect example of why Italian cuisine is known for taking just a few ingredients and turning them into dishes that are easy to make and incredibly delicious.
The first step is to start cooking the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with about a tablespoon of salt. Next, add the dry spaghetti to the boiling water (photo 1) and cook it just until it’s slightly underdone, right before it reaches al dente. Now, set aside 4 cups of the pasta cooking water and then use a colander to drain the noodles of the excess water.
While the pasta is cooking, use a mortar and pestle to grind the whole black peppercorns (photo 2). You want the ground pepper to be all different sizes of chunks. They should not be uniform. You can also use freshly ground pepper if you don’t have a mortar and pestle.
To make the paste, just mix 1 tablespoon of lukewarm water together with the grated pecorino Romano cheese in a medium bowl (photo 3). This step helps to prevent the sauce from having a grainy texture.
Heat a dry large pan over medium-high heat. Then add the freshly ground black pepper and toast it for 30 seconds. Next, add 1 cup of pasta water to the pan and then let the pepper mixture simmer over high heat for 2 minutes (photo 5).
When the spaghetti is done, add the noodles to the large saute pan with the black pepper water. Then add more of the pasta water to the pan to finish cooking the noodles (photo 6). It’s better to add a little of the water at a time rather than dump too much in the pan. When the noodles are done they should be creamy and al dente.
Here is where all the elements of this simple recipe come together! To begin, turn the heat off immediately once the spaghetti is fully cooked. Now, add the pecorino Romano paste to the hot noodles (photo 7) and then toss everything together well until a creamy sauce forms. If the pasta is too dry all you need to do is add a bit more of the reserved starchy water.
Once the cacio e pepe pasta is ready, garnish with some more pecorino cheese and freshly ground black pepper. Then serve it with your favorite wine and salad.
Other traditional Roman recipes for you to try:
It literally translates to “cheese and pepper” in Italian.
Of course, you can! It’s traditionally made with pecorino but a good quality fresh grated Parmesan cheese will work just as well. The flavor will just be a little less authentic.
If you just toss the grated cheese into the dish it will likely clump. This is why it’s so important to make a paste with pecorino cheese and pasta water before adding it to the cooked noodles. Turning the cheese into a creamy paste helps to prevent it from clumping.
The two dishes are both classics and do have similarities such as they both have pasta, pecorino Romano cheese, pasta water, and black pepper in their ingredient list. However, they are very different in other ways. Because those ingredients are all you need to make cacio e pepe, but to make carbonara you also need egg yolks and cured pork which make it a very different dish.
Leftovers will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container. To reheat, sprinkle the pasta with a bit of water to add a little moisture and then put it in the microwave for a few minutes on medium power. You can also reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat. This dish does not freeze well.
