Recipe
Cacio e pepe
Rome's three-ingredient classic: spaghetti, pecorino romano and toasted black pepper, bound into a silky sauce with nothing but starchy pasta water. No cream - ever.
Cacio e pepe takes about 25 minutes and makes 2 servings. Each serving has 555 kcal.
- Preparation
- 10 minutes
- Cooking
- 15 minutes
- Total time
- 25 minutes
- Servings
- 2
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 555 kcal
- Protein
- 27 g
- Carbohydrates
- 71 g
- Fat
- 18 g
Ingredients
- Spaghetti200 g
- Pecorino Romano100 g
- Black peppercorns2 tsp
- Salt1 pinch
Instructions
- 1
Finely grate the pecorino and crush the peppercorns coarsely.
- 2
Toast the crushed pepper in a large dry pan over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes, then take the pan off the heat.
- 3
Cook the spaghetti in lightly salted boiling water, 2 minutes short of the package time - the pecorino is salty, so go easy on the salt.
- 4
Stir the grated pecorino with a few spoonfuls of lukewarm pasta water into a thick, smooth paste.
- 5
Move the spaghetti into the pepper pan with a ladle of pasta water and finish cooking over low heat, stirring, for 2 minutes.
- 6
Off the heat, add the pecorino paste and toss vigorously until a glossy sauce coats every strand; loosen with pasta water if needed and serve at once.
Tip: Heat is the enemy: if the pan is too hot the pecorino clumps into strings. Take it off the heat, let it stop bubbling, then add the cheese paste.
Cooking methods
On the stove
Keep the pasta at a steady rolling boil, but do the final tossing over low heat and the cheese step with the pan completely off the burner. Residual heat in the pan is enough to keep the sauce fluid.
On induction
Boil the pasta on power 8–9, finish the spaghetti in the pan on power 3, then switch the stovetop off entirely before adding the pecorino - induction pans lose heat fast, which here works in your favor.
Over an open fire
Tricky over open fire because the cheese step needs gentle, controllable heat. Boil the pasta in a pot over strong flames, but pull the pan well away from the fire before adding the pecorino paste, or the sauce will split.
Recipe questions
- How long does this recipe take?
- Plan for about 25 minutes from start to finish.
- How many servings does this recipe make?
- This recipe makes 2 servings.
- Can I cook this recipe on induction?
- Yes. Boil the pasta on power 8–9, finish the spaghetti in the pan on power 3, then switch the stovetop off entirely before adding the pecorino - induction pans lose heat fast, which here works in your favor.
- Can I cook this recipe over an open fire?
- Yes. Tricky over open fire because the cheese step needs gentle, controllable heat. Boil the pasta in a pot over strong flames, but pull the pan well away from the fire before adding the pecorino paste, or the sauce will split.
- Which dietary preferences does this recipe support?
- This recipe is tagged: vegetarian.
In the app
Cooking the way it should feel
One step on screen, a timer that keeps going, and clear progress until the dish is done.
