Use This Method To Make Perfect Cacio E Pepe Every Single Time

Ingredients:

2 oz pecorino

2 tbsp crushed toasted black peppercorns, procedure below

2 servings dried pasta

Tools needed:

Cheese grater with fine grater side (zester side)

1 small mixing bowl

1 medium mixing bowl

Small stock pot

Tongs

Mortar and pestle or pepper mill

How to make it:

Use bronze die cut spaghetti for best results. It has a coarse exterior that helps the sauce stick to the pasta better and helps the sauce emulsify. This is a pasta that was imported from Italy and is very accessible from grocery stores.

The sauce for cacio e pepe is an emulsified sauce using the pasta cooking water and cheese. There is a technique to it so you don’t clump and curdle the cheese.

Get water on heat for cooking the pasta. Salt the water lightly and bring to a boil.

While the water comes up to a boil, start to toast the peppercorns in a pan. Heat the pan over medium low heat with the peppercorns stirring frequently. Heat the peppercorns until the become fragrant. This generally takes around 5 minutes. Grind the peppercorns in a mortar and pestle or place the toasted peppercorns in a pepper mill.

Once the pasta gets placed in the water, grate the cheese with the zest side of the cheese grater and set aside on a plate.

Add the pasta to the boiling salted water and cook according to the package instructions. When the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and add a ladle full of the pasta water to the mixing bowl. Swirl the pasta water around in the bowl to warm up the bowl. If you have a thermometer, check the temperature of the water. if is between 140 to 180 F, the water temperature is perfect. Grab the noodles with a pair of tongs and place the noodles into the bowl with the pasta water along with a good pinch of the toasted ground black pepper. Immediately, add the grated cheese and stir in the cheese with the noodles and water with your tongs. You are emulsifying the cheese and pasta water, coating the noodles. Add more water if the sauce is too thick and more cheese if it’s too thin. You will use most of the cheese (save some for plating), so add water and cheese as needed moving quickly to melt in the cheese before adding in any more water/cheese.

Serve immediately on a warm plate. Top with more grated cheese and a pinch of the black pepper.

Enjoy!

Logan