Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

Recipe recommended by us, suitable for all matrices available to us (plastic and bronze):

Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

Come with us culinary to Rome!" - and enjoy the typical Roman dish "Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe"

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prep time 15 Minutes Min.

cook time 10 Minutes Min.

Country & Region Italian

portions 4 Adults

cooking utensils

• 1 large cooking pot
• 1 pan
• 1 pasta strainer
• 1 wooden spoon
• 1 pair of tweezers

Ingredients

  

• 600 g fresh noodles For dried pasta this would be around 300-400 grams
• 200 g Pecorino (Romano)
• 1 TL freshly ground pepper
• Water and salt (for pasta water)

Instructions

 

• General information about Cacio e Pepe: Cacio e Pepe (pronounced "Katscho e pepe" is something like the mother of Roman pasta. In Rome it is offered on almost every street corner in the small osterias. You can't only find this dish in Rome, but in the entire Lazio region. Cacio comes from cheese, Pepe means pepper. You don't need many more ingredients for this dish, despite the few ingredients it is particularly tasty. According to stories, the dish was "invented" by shepherds. Pasta, pepper and Pecorino (a sheep's cheese, the word comes from pecora = sheep) had a long shelf life and was easy to take with you on hikes. And to get Pecorino, the shepherds sat at the spring.
  
• The pasta water makes the sauce creamy. It is said that innkeepers used to be stingy with the pasta water in order to boost their own sales. The drier the dish is served, the more wine you have to drink to get the pasta down. Good for business. Personally, I like the dish more with a lot of pasta water in the particularly creamy version. That's why I still won't miss the wine with my meal. It is traditionally prepared with spaghetti (usually thicker spaghetti, you often see the dish with square spaghetti). I wouldn't use angel hair or spaghetti 1,6 mm, because the pasta should be stirred in the pan with pasta water for a while. Spaghetti that is too thin may become too soft too quickly. 2,5mm wide spaghetti are ideal.
  
• Now to the recipe: You need: Spaghetti, if possible a slightly thicker variety, 1 spoonful (approx. 5 gr.) black peppercorns, Pecorino, approx. 200 gr. Preparation: Prepare spaghetti, set aside. Grate the Pecorino finely (e.g. it becomes very fine with the Microplan zester grater), you will need the majority of it for the sauce, you should leave a small remainder to sprinkle over the finished dish. Bring water to a boil with a little salt. Attention: only use half as much water as normal! This way you increase the starch content in the cooking water, which is what we need for this dish. Crush peppercorns with a mortar or pepper mill. They shouldn't be chopped too finely, preferably pieces of different sizes. I will use the micro plane grater.
  
• Now cook the spaghetti. For fresh spaghetti, one minute is enough; it is cooked in the pan. Save the pasta water, we still need some of it. Almost at the same time, roast the pepper in a pan without oil over a low heat, stirring with a wooden spatula. Deglaze the pasta water with a ladle. Now the spaghetti is added to the pan; it is best to stir it with long tweezers. As with risotto, always add a small ladleful of pasta water and add more when the water has evaporated. Add hot pasta water to the grated Pecorino (without the rest for decoration at the end) and stir vigorously with a whisk. It will be a kind of paste, not too creamy yet. Now add the pecorino paste to the spaghetti and stir everything with the tweezers so that all the ingredients are mixed. If the Cacio e Pepe isn't creamy enough, you can add some grated Pecorino and warm pasta water.
  
• You made it. But now quickly: Serve fresh and first sprinkle with some freshly ground pepper and some Pecorino.
  
• Enjoy your meal!
  

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