Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe
Three ingredients, done right: tonnarelli, Pecorino Romano and black pepper, emulsified with starchy pasta water into a sauce with no cream in it at all.
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total
- 25 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- medium
Cacio e pepe is Rome's proof that technique beats ingredients. Pasta, toasted black pepper and Pecorino Romano, nothing else, and the sauce comes entirely from starchy pasta water melting the cheese into a cling instead of a clump.
The failure mode is cheese that seizes into rubbery strings the instant it meets hot water. Off the heat, gradual water, constant tossing: that is the whole technique.
Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe is one of the twenty most famous Italian foods.
method
Toast the cracked pepper in a dry pan over low heat for a minute until fragrant, then add a splash of water to stop it burning. Set aside.
Cook the pasta in water salted much less than usual, since the Pecorino will add plenty of salt. Reserve two cups of the water before draining.
Whisk the grated Pecorino with a splash of the reserved water, off the heat, into a thick, smooth cream. Add water gradually; too much too fast makes it split.
Toss the drained pasta with the pepper and its water in the pan, off the heat, then add the cheese cream and toss vigorously, adding more pasta water as needed until glossy.
Serve immediately with more cracked pepper on top.
chef's tips
- Make the Pecorino cream off the heat, in a bowl, not in the hot pan; direct heat is what curdles it.
- Under-salt the pasta water; Pecorino is salty enough to carry the dish on its own.
- This dish does not wait. Have everyone at the table before you start tossing.