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Photo Credit: Elizabeth Newman

Cacio E Pepe Pizza

by Giada

★★★★★

(1 review)

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Serves

4

Beginner

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Newman

Cacio E Pepe Pizza

Name: Cacio E Pepe Pizza
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: ¾ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano; ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan; 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper; 1 pound pizza dough; Flour; 2 tablespoons crushed ice; Olive oil (for drizzling, such as Fratepietro)

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What I love about meeting other chefs is how much you can learn from each other - and that's how this recipe came to be. When I was filming Bobby and Giada in Italy, I took Bobby to one of my favorite pizzerias in the movie district of Rome. The restaurant is called Sforno, and it's headed by Chef Stefano Callegari - and this recipe is inspired by his genius method of making Cacio E Pepe Pizza.

To make a successful cacio e pepe pasta, pasta water is an imperative ingredient - so how do you emulate that on a pizza? Chef Stefano has a crazy way of making it happen, and it's absolutely genius. He places crushed ice cubes on the raw pizza dough, and when it cooks, it creates a starchy water in the center of the pizza... just like pasta water!

As soon as the pizza dough cooks, he sprinkles it heavily with freshly grated Pecorino and black pepper. The result is layers of different cheesy consistencies: you have the crispy pizza dough, a creamy velvety cheese layer, and the freshly grated cheese on top. I love this so much because in my experience, Pecorino tends to separate and get bitter when it's cooked in a hot oven - so this is an amazing way to bypass that and have all the flavors and textures of cacio e pepe.

In my version, I use a blend of Parmesan and Pecorino - but the method is the same. I give all credit to Chef Stefano for this one!

Cacio E Pepe Pizza

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Calories

425

Author:

Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

¾ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan

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1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 pound pizza dough
Flour

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2 tablespoons crushed ice
Olive oil (for drizzling, such as Fratepietro)

DOP Parmigiano Reggiano 24 Months Aged Mitica

DOP Parmigiano Reggiano 24 Month Aged Cheese

Regular Price: $18.50

Sale Price: $18.50
Regular Price

Unit Price: per

(6-8oz)

Pizza Flour

Regular Price: $6.50

Sale Price: $6.50
Regular Price

Unit Price: per

(2.2 lbs)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place a baking sheet in the oven to preheat while you assemble the pizza.
In a small bowl, mix the Pecorino Romano, Parmesan and freshly cracked black pepper. Set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll and stretch out the pizza dough into an 11-by-16-inch oval. Remove the hot baking sheet from the oven. Carefully transfer the dough to the preheated baking sheet. Sprinkle the crushed ice evenly around the pizza dough, leaving an inch empty around the crust.
Bake the pizza in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the crust appears golden brown and fully cooked.
Remove the pizza from the oven, and immediately sprinkle the cheese mixture over the dough, leaving about half an inch empty around the crust. Drizzle with olive oil and eat immediately

Nutrition

per serving: Calories; 425

Amount/Serving % Daily Value

Carbs: 55 grams
Protein: 21 grams
Fat: 13 grams
Saturated Fat: 7 grams
Cholesterol: 32 milligrams
Sodium: 1346 milligrams
Fiber: 2 grams
Sugar: 7 grams

nut free

vegetarian

4 reviews & comments

Francoise - May 16

@Greg See this video so you will see the tip Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis Eat Cacio E Pepe PIZZA in Italy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy760wFfl1w
The Giadzy Kitchen - Mar 20

Hi @Greg! The creamy, velvety layer actually comes from adding cruched ice to the pizza! The cheese melts into the starchy water, similar to how it would for Cacio e Pepe pasta, and creates the creamy cheese layer! Hope this helps!
Greg - Mar 20

Super confused about the Cheese element here. It says as soon as the pizza dough cooks (when it’s done?) to sprinkle the parm and Pecorino. The recipe says “The result is layers of different cheesy consistencies: you have the crispy pizza dough, a creamy velvety cheese layer, and the freshly grated cheese on top.” What is creating the creamy velvety cheese layer? The only cheeses are deliverately left til end, and put on the at the same time so they won’t burn. There shouldn’t be a “creamy velvety cheese layer”. Very weird to read. I’d love to make it I just don’t understand it.
Siri Larson - Jun 09

This recipe was absolutely delicious and so fun to make!! I used some of my homemade pizza dough with it and the cheese and the crushed ice did exactly what the recipe entailed and I would highly highly HIGHLY recommend this recipe to anyone looking for something new!