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Cacio e Pepe - A Family Feast

Cacio e Pepe

Cacio e Pepe has strands of pasta cooked in a skillet of water, then tossed with finely grated cheese and a generous sprinkle of freshly cracked black pepper. A little added pasta water creates a silky sauce that’s so simple and so delicious!

Yield: 4 servings 1x
Prep: 30 minutesCook: 30 minutesTotal: 1 hour
Scale:

Ingredients

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

1 cup finely grated Romano cheese (2 1/2 ounces in weight)

1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (2 1/2 ounces in weight)

12 ounces DeCecco brand or Rustichella d’Abruzzo brand Spaghetti

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more after cooking if needed

5 cups water, plus up to another 1 1/2 cups if needed (heated)


Instructions

  1. In a good quality 12” skillet, over medium high heat, toast the whole peppercorns, tossing often, for about two to three minutes. Pour into a small bowl or plate to cool.
  2. After the toasted peppercorns cool, pulse to a coarse grind in a spice grinder or use a mortal and pestle as we did.
  3. Grate both cheese types into a small bowl and mix to combine.
  4. Heat the water to hot, either in a saucepan or microwave in a glass measuring cup.
  5. In the same 12” skillet, place the spaghetti in the center so that it all goes the same way and does not overhang. Do not apply heat yet.
  6. Sprinkle two tablespoons of the cheese mixture along with a half teaspoon of the ground pepper and a half teaspoon of the kosher salt.
  7. Pour five cups of heated water over the pasta and bring the heat to medium high.
  8. Use tongs to keep the pasta submerged and once pliable, move around the pan as it cooks and absorbs the water.
  9. You are looking for the pasta to be slightly underdone (al dente) with about a cup of starchy liquid in the pan bottom. This should take about 10-12 minutes. If too much water has been absorbed and the pasta is still hard, add a half cup at a time of hot water as needed.
  10. Once pasta has reached this al dente stage, add half of the grated cheese while keeping the heat at medium high. Stir this in then add half of what is left, stir, then the rest of the cheese and stir.
  11. At this stage there should be about a quarter cup of creamy, starchy liquid in the pan bottom. If not, add a little more water.
  12. Turn off the heat and sprinkle on a full teaspoon of the pepper and stir. Taste and add more salt if needed.
  13. Serve immediately with a little more cheese freshly grated over each portion and the remaining pepper sprinkled on top.

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Notes

At any point in the cooking process, if the pasta is too thick and starchy and there is not enough liquid to give you a creamy consistency, simply add a little more warm water as needed.


© Author: A Family Feast
Cuisine: Italian Method: stovetop, simmer