From Rome, with love: here's how to make a perfect cacio e pepe.
Of all our favorite Italian dishes, cacio e pepe could be the poster child for that beautiful simplicity that makes them so special. The name translates to "cheese and pepper," which is really all you need other than some pasta and butter to make this deliciously minimal pasta.
Cacio e pepe's history goes all the way back to the Roman empire, and it's one of Rome's four quintessential pasta dishes. But it took the rest of the world by storm in the early 2010s. Before then, it was very rare to find this dish on a menu in the US! Chef Evan Funke first put it on the menu at his Santa Monica restaurant Rustic Canyon in 2008, Anthony Bourdain enjoyed a bowl of it on the Rome episode of No Reservations in 2010, and the rest was history. It became an international culinary obsession, and we know why: for a dish with so few ingredients, the result is magical.
Today, home cooks everywhere have tried (and sometimes failed) to master the alchemy of this deceptively simple pasta at home. Though the recipe has just a few ingredients (pasta, black pepper, Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, and butter—though even that is up for debate!), it can be tricky to get them to come together into a silky, creamy sauce.
If you've ever struggled with making cacio e pepe, or have been too intimidated to give it a try, never fear! Here are Giada's tips for success with her cacio e pepe recipe so you can enjoy this beloved Roman dish at home.
1. Pick the right pasta shape.
Cacio e pepe is traditionally made with handmade tonnarelli pasta, which is about double the thickness of classic spaghetti. A close substitute is a high-quality bucatini; you can also use a shorter curved pasta shape that will trap the sauce in its nooks and crannies.
2. Use the good cheese.
To get just the right balance of flavors, Giada uses a blend of Parmigiano Reggiano and pecorino romano in her cacio e pepe. This is the time to splurge on the good stuff—wedges of real Parmigiano Reggiano (learn how to make sure you're getting the right one here!) and high quality pecorino romano that's actually made in Lazio. This dish gets nearly all of its flavor from cheese, so it's worth the investment! Take the time to grate the cheeses finely yourself (Giada uses a Microplane grater) so they melt smoothly into the sauce. If you've wound up with a globby, congealed mess before, there's a good chance the quality of your cheese was to blame.
3. Grind your pepper yourself.
It's called cacio and pepe for a reason, after all! Don't skimp on the black pepper, and always grind it yourself—it's so much more flavorful than pre-ground pepper. For an extra boost of that sharp pepper flavor, drizzle in some pepper-infused olive oil like our favorite one from the oil experts at Gargiulo.
4. When the pasta goes in, shut off the heat.
Giada swears by this trick. It ensures the cheese doesn't overheat on the stove and become grainy in texture - let the residual heat from the pan melt everything perfectly into a silky sauce.5. Save—and use—a lot of pasta water.
The magic of this dish comes from the starches of the pasta water emulsifying with cheese and butter to create a velvety, cheese sauce. Save plenty of your pasta cooking water (at least 1 1/2 cups) for this recipe—you'll need it all. Giada's tip? Use a pasta spider or slotted spoon to transfer the cooked pasta directly from the pot to the sauce pan. That way you skip the step of draining into a colander, and you're left with a whole pot full of water to use as you need.
Ready to get cooking? Get our Cacio e Pepe Box to stock up on all the ingredients you need to make this beloved dish Giada's way.
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