John Myers
Ingredients for 4 servings:
- 500 g pasta (Tonnarelli), Italian square spaghetti “Chitarre”
- 225 g Pecorino
- Salt and pepper, black, from the mill
Instructions
Working time approx. 10 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 10 minutes; Total time approx. 20 minutes
Perfection and purism
Grate the pecorino. Pour about 2.5 liters of water into a pot and bring to a boil. When the water is bubbling, add about 25 g of salt (compared to other pasta recipes, we recommend using half the normal amount of water and salt for pasta cacio e pepe). Add the tonnarelli to the boiling water and dip them in with a fork. To prevent the spaghetti from sticking together, stir the pasta several times with a fork. Do not add any oil. Cook the pasta al dente according to the package instructions. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Place 200 g of pecorino in a wide pan or bowl and mix with the medium-ground pepper (about 0.5 tbsp per person), stirring constantly and without adding too much heat. A few minutes before the pasta is ready, add the pasta water to the cheese and pepper, one tablespoon at a time, and stir vigorously with a whisk. Add enough of the pasta water to the sauce until it is creamy. Remove the pasta from the water with a pasta spoon or spaghetti tongs and add it to the cheese. It’s important not to rinse the pasta at this stage, as this will remove the starch needed to bind the sauce. Stir the pasta several times until the pasta and sauce are well combined. If the pasta is too dry, add a little more pasta water. If, on the other hand, the sauce is too runny, increase the amount of pecorino. The dish is ready when the sauce is slightly moist. To serve, sprinkle the remaining grated pecorino and freshly ground pepper over the pasta. This creates a creamy, fragrant pasta. Eat the Cacio e Pepe immediately while it’s still warm. Note: This dish is said to have been invented by shepherds who always carried dry pasta, aged pecorino, and hot pepper in their backpacks while out on the pastures. For Cacio e Pepe pasta, you use tonnarelli, large, square spaghetti that retain a nice, firm bite and allow the sauce to cling to it, blending perfectly. Semi-cured Pecorino Romano is also used. Unlike Parmesan, this cheese is not hard and crumbly, but rather still slightly buttery on the outside.
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