Cacio e Pepe
Pecorino, cracked pepper and pasta water alchemy.
Maui's an app that plans a whole week of dinners like this one. See how it works ↓
The #1 mistake is adding cheese over heat - pecorino seizes above ~160F into a stringy lump. ALWAYS off heat, lots of starchy pasta water, keep tossing. If it breaks: add a splash of hot pasta water and whisk like you mean it. Recovery is possible.
Ingredients
Everything below makes 4 servings.
- 1 lbspaghetti
- 2 cupspecorino romanovery finely grated (microplane)
- 2 tspblack peppercornsfreshly cracked, coarse
- 2 tbspunsalted butter
- 1 tbspolive oil
- 1 tspkosher saltfor pasta water (use less than usual - pecorino is salty)
In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.
Nutrition
Per serving, as written.
- 700calories
- 26gprotein
- 78gcarbs
- 32gfat
Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.
Instructions
Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.
- Bring a large pot of LIGHTLY salted water to a boil - less than usual, the pecorino brings the salt.
- Grate the pecorino on the finest setting of a microplane - it must be powder-fine to melt smoothly.
- Coarsely crack the black peppercorns with a mortar or the bottom of a heavy pan.
Toast pepper
Melt the butter with olive oil in a cold skillet, then warm over medium. Add the cracked pepper and toast 60-90 sec - it should sizzle and smell sharp. This step builds the deepest, most aromatic pepper flavor.
2 min · hands onBoil pasta
Drop spaghetti into the boiling water and cook 1 min less than package. Before draining, reserve 2 CUPS of starchy pasta water - you'll need it.
9 min · hands onBuild emulsion
Add 1/2 cup pasta water to the pepper-butter skillet. Swirl to combine - it should look creamy. Use tongs to transfer the spaghetti directly from the pot into the skillet (drag some water with it).
1 min · hands onCheese it
OFF HEAT - this is critical. Add half the pecorino and toss vigorously with tongs. Add another splash of pasta water, then the rest of the cheese. Keep tossing until the sauce is glossy and coats every strand. If it seizes, add hot pasta water 1 tbsp at a time and keep tossing.
2 min · hands onPlate
Plate immediately and shower with extra pepper and grated pecorino. Eat right now - every 30 sec on the plate is texture lost.
1 min · hands onMake it yours
Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.
Render 4 oz diced guanciale in skillet first - but at that point you've basically made gricia; breaks halal. Adds about 5 minutes.
Dress arugula with lemon and olive oil while pasta boils. Adds about 5 minutes.
Softer, less sharp - the parm rounds out pecorino's bite.
What keeps
Eat immediately. Cacio e Pepe does not survive the fridge - the emulsion breaks and the cheese seizes into clumps on reheat.
Scale down rather than save leftovers.
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