Cacio e Pepe

La storia di questo piatto

Born on the cobblestones of Trastevere, carried in the satchels of shepherds crossing the Roman Campagna, Cacio e Pepe is not a recipe — it is a declaration of identity, the proud whisper of a city that needs nothing to be everything.

Ingredienti

• 200 g Spaghetti or Tonnarelli
• 150 g Pecorino Romano DOP
• 2 teaspoons Black peppercorns
• 10 g Sea salt
• 2 liters Water for pasta

Preparazione

1. Fill a large pot with plenty of water and add generous salt as if you were seasoning seawater. Cover with the lid and turn the heat to maximum. You'll know it's ready when you see it boiling vigorously with plenty of bubbles rising quickly to the surface.
2. While you wait for the water to boil, put freshly ground black pepper into a wide pan over medium heat. Stir continuously: when you smell a rich and fragrant aroma rising from the pan (the pepper beginning to release its oils), stop stirring immediately to prevent it from burning. Usually just 1-2 minutes is enough.
3. Grate the Pecorino Romano finely using a grater with small holes, so you get a fine powder of cheese (not large shards). Take a portion of the grated cheese and put it in a bowl with a tablespoon of lukewarm cooking water. Stir with a spoon until you get a smooth cream with no lumps: the cheese should be creamy and slippery, not grainy or sandy.
4. Toss the pasta into the boiling water and stir immediately with a wooden spoon to prevent the strands from sticking together. Read the time on the box and remove the pasta from heat 1 minute before the indicated cooking time. Bite a strand of pasta: it should be soft but still have a very small hard core in the center when you chew it. This is the right moment.
5. Drain the pasta directly into the pan with the pepper, without rinsing it under cold water (the starch that remains on the pasta will help the sauce become creamy). Before draining completely, take a full glass of the white, starchy cooking water: this water is the secret ingredient that will make the dish creamy and glossy.
6. Remove the pan from the heat (it should stay hot but no longer be directly over the flame). Pour the still-steaming pasta into the pepper and immediately after add the pecorino cream you've prepared. Mix quickly and vigorously using tongs and a wooden spoon, constantly turning the pasta. You need to see the pasta moving and sliding around inside the pan, not sitting still.
7. Add the cooking water you set aside, little by little: pour a spoonful at a time and keep stirring energetically between each addition. Watch the pasta as you stir: it should become creamy and shiny, with a sauce that coats every strand and makes it glossy. If you feel it's still dry and the strands aren't sliding smoothly in the pan, add more spoonfuls of water until it becomes velvety and creamy like a proper sauce.
8. Transfer the pasta to your already-warmed plates (keep them in the oven at low temperature if you can). Sprinkle it immediately with the remaining pecorino and a generous grinding of fresh black pepper. Serve at the table right away, before it cools down and loses its creaminess.