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Cacio e Pepe · Classic

Cacio e Pepe (Cheese and Black Pepper Pasta)

Just three ingredients plus pasta water. The trick is a smooth cheese paste and a pan that's warm, not scorching, so the sauce turns creamy instead of clumpy.

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Prep
5 min
Cook
15 min
Total
20 min
Serves
2
Level
Medium

Ingredients

  • 8 oz spaghetti
  • 1 tsp kosher salt, for the pasta water; the cheese is salty
  • 2 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
  • 1 ½ cups pecorino romano, finely grated (about 3 oz)

Steps

  1. Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a Dutch oven or wide pot and add the salt. Using less water than usual makes it starchier.
  2. Toast the pepper in a dry 12-inch skillet over medium heat until fragrant, then turn off the heat.
  3. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook, stirring often, until 2 minutes short of al dente.
  4. Scoop 1 cup of the pasta water into a measuring cup and let it cool slightly.
  5. Put the cheese in a bowl and stir in 1/4 cup of the slightly cooled pasta water to make a smooth, thick paste.
  6. Pour 1/2 cup more pasta water into the skillet with the pepper.
  7. Move the spaghetti into the skillet with tongs and cook over medium heat, tossing, until al dente and the liquid has reduced by about half.
  8. Turn off the heat and wait so the pan is warm, not scorching.
  9. Add the cheese paste and toss quickly, adding splashes of the remaining pasta water, until a creamy sauce coats the noodles. Serve at once.

Tip: If the cheese clumps, the pan was too hot. Add a splash of warm pasta water and toss off the heat until smooth.

Tip: Grind the pepper coarse; fine pepper turns the sauce gray and gritty.

Tip: Pecorino is traditionally made with animal rennet. For a strictly vegetarian dish, look for a hard sheep's milk cheese labeled vegetarian.

Storage: Best eaten right away; the sauce does not reheat well.

Estimated nutrition per serving: 590 calories · protein 29 g · carbohydrates 88 g · fiber 4 g · sugars 3 g · fat 13 g (saturated 8 g) · sodium 620 mg. Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Based on 3 of 3 ingredients.