Cacio e Pepe Pasta (Printable)

Silky Pecorino sauce meets bold pepper in this timeless Roman classic.

# What You Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 7 oz spaghetti or tonnarelli

→ Cheese & Seasoning

02 - 2.8 oz Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated
03 - 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
04 - 1/2 tsp salt for pasta water

→ Other

05 - 4 cups water

# How-To Steps:

01 - Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot and add salt. This minimal water technique creates a starchy cooking liquid essential for the sauce.
02 - Add spaghetti and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally. Reserve about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining.
03 - Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, toast the black pepper for 1 minute until fragrant. This step releases the pepper's essential oils.
04 - Add 1/2 cup of the reserved hot pasta water to the skillet with the pepper. Let simmer briefly to infuse the water with pepper flavor.
05 - In a large mixing bowl, combine grated Pecorino Romano with a few tablespoons of hot pasta water to form a thick paste. This tempering prevents the cheese from seizing.
06 - Add the cooked spaghetti to the skillet with pepper and toss well. Remove from heat to prevent sauce from breaking.
07 - Gradually add the cheese paste to the pasta, tossing quickly and adding more reserved pasta water as needed to form a creamy, silky sauce that coats the noodles evenly.
08 - Serve immediately, topped with extra Pecorino Romano and a sprinkle of black pepper.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • Its absolute proof that the most luxurious things in life often need just three ingredients and twenty minutes
  • The way the heat hits your throat from all that fresh cracked pepper feels like a warm embrace
02 -
  • If your cheese starts clumping into little rubbery bits, you've probably added the paste too quickly or the pan was too hot, and honestly it happens to the best of us
  • The trick is working quickly and confidently once the pasta hits the skillet, hesitation is your enemy here
03 -
  • Save way more pasta water than you think you need, about a full cup, because you cannot fix a broken emulsion without enough starchy liquid
  • Work quickly once you start tossing, the sauce tightens up fast as it cools

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