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Cacio e Pepe

Using only pasta, cheese, freshly ground black pepper, salt, olive oil and butter, Cacio e Pepe is economical, accessible and, very importantly, creamy, dreamy and full of flavour.

Course Light meal, light supper, Lunch, Supper
Cuisine Italian
Keyword black pepper, Cheese, Pasta, pecorino romano
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Servings 1
Author Susan

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
  • ½ tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 85g spaghetti (or tonnarelli, or spaghetti alla chitarra)
  • 280ml boiling water
  • ⅛ teaspoon fine salt, ideally sea salt
  • 60g pecorino romano (or use parmesan)

To finish and serve:

  • extra cheese
  • extra pepper
  • green or mixed salad, on the side

Instructions

  1. Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.

  2. Heat half the butter with the olive oil over a moderate heat, in a pan wide enough to take the spaghetti. Add the freshly ground black pepper and cook until fragrant. This will only take around 1 minute.

  3. Add the pasta, boiling water and salt and bring to a simmer. Cook, without a lid, until the water has almost disappeared (just a couple of tablespoons left) and the pasta is cooked to al dente, around 10 minutes. Stir the pasta, from time to time, as it cooks. This helps release the starch, which in turn, will help create a thicker sauce which will cling to the sides of the pasta.

    Please note:

    - if the pasta is cooked, and there is too much liquid left, boil briskly to reduce quickly.

    - if the water has disappeared and the pasta is not yet cooked, add a little more boiling water and cook until the pasta is ready.

  4. Add the remaining butter and the cheese, stirring very well, until it has all melted. It will create a thick, cheesy sauce and coat the pasta.

  5. Serve immediately, garnished with a little extra cheese and more freshly ground black pepper. Delicious with a salad on the side.

Recipe Notes

Equipment:

  • kitchen scales and measuring spoon
  • wide pan
  • grater

Increasing the quantities:

This recipe will give you a small to medium sized portion. To increase the quantities you need to -

  • weigh pasta 
  • multiply the weight of pasta by 3.25 to get the amount of water you need to add
  • multiply the weight of pasta by 70% or 0.7 to get the amount of cheese to add
  • adjust pepper, salt, olive oil and butter to taste

For example if you are cooking 110g pasta - 

  • 110g pasta x 3.25 = 357ml rounded up to 360ml water
  • 110g pasta x 0.7 = 77g rounded up to 80g cheese