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Cacio e Pepe

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Al dente spaghetti pasta with butter, cheese and fresh black pepper in a parmesan bowl

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 crispy parmesan bowls – optional
  • 1 tsp sea salt – for boiling pasta
  • 6 cups water – for boiling pasta
  • 8 oz bronze die-cut spaghetti pasta
  • 21/2 cups finely grated pecorino-romano
  • 2 TBL unsalted butter
  • 1 TBL black peppercorns – crushed
  • 12 tsp black peppercorns – roughly cracked
  • 1 glass of chianti to enjoy while cooking
  • 1 glass of chianti to accompany your dinner!

Instructions

  1. Toast the crushed peppercorns over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute or slightly longer, then add the butter and swirl the pan until it melts. Set aside
  2. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Place 8 ounces of pasta in the pot and cook it for 7 minutes. Place 1-2 ladles of pasta water over the grated cheese and mix together with a fork to form a paste
  3. 2-3 minutes before the pasta is fully cooked per the pasta maker’s instructions, take and add 3/4 cup of the boiling pasta water  to the butter sauce and place over medium heat. Quickly drain and add the pasta to the butter sauce. Reserve all the pasta water!
  4. Toss and stir the pasta until it finishes cooking to al dente. Add more pasta water if necessary. Don’t guess, taste!
  5. When the pasta is ready. remove the pan from the heat, then add the cheese paste. Stir and toss until it melts and completely integrates into the sauce. Add more pasta water if necessary until it is a creamy sauce.
  6. Divide the pasta evenly, twirl and place each serving into a parmesan bowl and garnish with cracked black pepper and grated cheese – (optional)