Cacio e Pepe

Alongside all’amatriciana, alla gricia and carbonara, cacio e pepe is one of the four holy pastas of Rome. It’s a marvel of simplicity, using 4 ingredients, but requires proper technique to achieve creamy nirvana. The pasta, dressed in only a butter-cheese sauce punctuated with the sharp bite of pepper is heavenly.

The oldest traditional recipes use only three ingredients, cheese, pasta and black pepper. They rely totally upon the pasta starch and the cheese for the sauce. Butter gives you more flavor and a creamier sauce. We use butter for ours as do many premier Italian restaurants like Ristorante Roma Sparita.

Making the Crispy Parmesan Bowls

I love my pasta in a crispy parmesan bowl, so let’s begin here. Use a large non-stick pan, with a flat bottom about 8″ diameter. Place about 1/4 cup of finely shredded parmesan in the bottom and spread it out with your fingers. The thinner the cheese, the crispier the bowl.

Have a glass or jar ready on a potholder or kitchen towel, to avoid slippage as you mold the bowl. Heat the cheese over low heat until it melts and turns golden brown, about 4-5 minutes if you begin with a cold pan. When it’s golden, remove it from the heat and as it cools it will begin to release from the pan. Use a silicone spatula to hasten the process until it’s completely free. Lift the edge with the spatula, grab it with your fingers and drape it over the mold. Work quickly and form it into a bowl because it will set within seconds.

Making Cacio E Pepe

A hallmark of this dish is its smooth, creamy sauce and this requires the right ingredients and technique. A common flaw is stringy or clumpy cheese. Avoid this by using finely grated (almost a powder) sheep’s milk pecorino romano. Use the smallest side of your box grater and don’t allow any chunks of cheese into the bowl. This will melt and completely incorporate into the sauce. Your cheese should look like the photo below.

If you love pepper as I do, use the full tablespoon of peppercorns and the cracked pepper for garnish. For those less enamored with black pepper, use half to two thirds the amount. Use a high fat genuine butter for flavor and better emulsion of the sauce.

Place the pepper in a large saucepan and toast it over medium heat for 1 full minute or slightly longer until it becomes fragrant.

Then add the butter and swirl the pan until it is melted, remove from the heat and set aside.

A creamy sauce also requires as much starch as humanly possible from our pasta. Using bronze die-cut durum wheat semolina pasta is important for this. It’s rough surface will release starch, hold sauce and lend an earthy nutty flavor. See the comparison of this pasta and your standard supermarket pasta below.

The cheese for our dish is very salty, so use lightly salted water, half the normal amount with 6 cups of water to maximize the starch we get from the pasta as it cooks.

Begin boiling the pasta and after 7 minutes, place 2 ladles of pasta water into the grated cheese and mix it with a fork until it forms a paste.

Continue boiling the pasta, strain and reserve all the pasta water 3 minutes before the total time recommended by the pasta maker. It will finish cooking in the sauce pan.

Drain briefly, just a few seconds. Place  a ladle or two of pasta water to the sauce pan, add the pasta and return to medium low heat. Finish cooking the pasta while stirring and tossing with tongs until it becomes al-dente. Taste as you go.

Add more pasta water as necessary to finish cooking the pasta and because we need liquid to finish the sauce. When the pasta is al dente, remove from the heat and add the cheese paste.

Stir in the cheese paste. Toss and stir until it is completely incorporated into the sauce and add more pasta water if necessary. If you boil off too much water and run out of pasta water you may add a little tap water. It should finish into a delicious, cheesy, peppery, creamy sauce that looks like this.

Twirl a generous portion with a long fork and place it in a parmesan bowl on a plate. Spoon extra sauce over it and garnish with cracked black pepper. This was the late Anthony Bourdain’s favorite pasta and I understand why. This and a glass of chianti are all you need!

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