Mama Palma’s Easy Cacio e Pepe

Cacio e Pepe is a very simple, yet delicious sauce made of pasta water, romano cheese and black pepper. It’s one of Rome’s most popular dishes!

The four most popular pasta dishes in Rome are Amatriciana, Carbonara, Gricia, and Cacio e Pepe. I constantly go back and forth with which one is my favorite. This one is like an Italian version of mac and cheese. The sharp Romano and tons of black pepper just make for an incredible flavor.

I have a confession to make. Cacio e Pepe is seemingly the easiest of these pasta dishes, yet I have struggled with it for a few years now. I researched what feels like a thousand recipes and different techniques, but I just could not get it right. I had it in Rome a few years ago and have ordered it at various restaurants here, but just could not get it right at home.

After MANY failed attempts, I finally got it! So what you have here is a ton of trial and error and tweaking various recipes that finally worked.

The problem I kept having was that the cheese would seize up and just be a huge stringy mess that didn’t coat the pasta. I have done the work and thrown away countless batches of this dish so you don’t have to! If you follow these instructions, you can reap the benefits of all my experimenting.

The ingredient list is quite simple. The process is not complicated. But you do have to work quickly. This isn’t one that you can walk away from. Also, you need to serve it pretty immediately.

You’ll need:

• 8 oz pasta (I suggest spaghetti or bucatini)
• 2 T butter
• 1/2 c finely grated Romano cheese (This is important. VERY finely grated. Think the texture of the Parmesan cheese that you get in a canister. You can use a microplane or even a food processor)
• Lots of freshly grated black pepper

That’s your ingredient list. So simple, but I promise you, the flavor is huge.

Now let’s do this. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions for “al dente”. It’s going to finish cooking a little when you add the other ingredients, so don’t overcook it at this point.

IMPORTANT: Before you drain the pasta, reserve 2/3 c of the pasta water. This is important because the starchy water is what is going to help you make a sauce that will cling to the pasta.

Drain the pasta and set it aside. Add the reserved pasta water and butter into a large skillet. Add several turns of freshly ground black pepper. Now add the pasta and toss it around to coat. Working quickly, add the Romano while constantly stirring and tossing everything together until you have a creamy sauce that coats all the pasta. Add a few more turns of black pepper.

Put in bowls and top with more cheese and black pepper if you want.

Print Recipe

Mama Palma's Easy Cacio e Pepe

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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By Denise Palma – Serves: 4

Total Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 8 oz pasta (I suggest spaghetti or bucatini)
• 2 T butter
• 1/2 c finely grated Romano cheese (This is important. VERY finely grated. Think the texture of the Parmesan cheese that you get in a canister. You can use a microplane or even a food processor)
• Lots of freshly grated black pepper

Instructions

1

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2

Cook pasta according to box directions for "al dente", as it will cook more later.

3

Drain pasta, reserving 2/3 c of pasta water.

4

In a large skillet, add the pasta water and butter over medium heat.

5

Add several turns of freshly ground black pepper.

6

Stir pasta water, butter and pepper.

7

Add pasta and toss in the pasta water mixture until thoroughly coated.

8

Add a few more turns of black pepper.

9

Working quickly, add the cheese and toss and stir until you have a creamy sauce.

10

Serve immediately with more cheese and pepper if desired.