Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe Recipe - Authentic, Foolproof! (2024)

• 11 oz spaghetti dry is fine
• 1 ½ tbsp black pepper freshly ground at a medium coarse setting
• 7 oz pecorino romano cheese finely grated; use semi-hard if you can find it
• 6 ¾ cups water for cooking the pasta
• coarse salt to taste

Prepare Ingredients

• Freshly grate the pecorino with the finest setting available. You may use a food processor to do this quickly. Set aside.

  7 oz pecorino romano cheese

• Freshly grind the black pepper (1 ½ Tbs) using a medium-coarse setting. You can use a mortar and pestle if you prefer.

  1 ½ tbsp black pepper

  

Toast the Black Pepper

• Toast pepper in a large skillet over very low heat just until fragrant. Then, remove pan from the heat.

  We recommend adding the pepper to a cold skillet, then turning the heat on low. Do not over toast! We don’t want to create pepper gas 🙂

  

Cook the Pasta

• In a medium-large pot, bring 6 ¾ cups of water to boil. Start cooking the pasta in this pot of water for just half of the cook-time indicated on the package for ‘al dente’ pasta—about 5 minutes.

  6 ¾ cups water, coarse salt, 11 oz spaghetti

  

Simmer the Pepper

• While pasta is cooking, add 2-3 ladles of the pasta water to the pan with the black pepper.

  Return the pan to the heat, and simmer the black pepper in the water for 2 minutes.

  

Finish the Pasta

• When the pasta is halfway through the cook time, transfer the pasta to the pan with the pepper-infused water.

  

• Add another ladle of hot pasta water to the pan—just enough to keep the pasta cooking. Finish cooking the pasta until it is al dente.

  In the meantime…

  

Make the Pecorino Sauce

• In a bowl, add ½ cup (100 ml) of the hot pasta water to a cup or bowl. Let the water cool a minute or two, or until it has reached a temperature of about 140° F (60° C).Don't have a thermometer? See Notes…

  

• Add this pasta water to the pecorino cheese.

  

• Mix thoroughly until you’ve achieved a smooth, thick paste— similar in appearance to a smooth ricotta cheese.

  

Add the Cheese Sauce

• Remove the skillet with the cooked pasta from the heat. Drain any excess water so only a tablespoon or two of liquid remains in the pan.Add the pecorino paste to the pasta.

  

• Stir quickly with a pair of tongs until the paste is distributed throughout the pasta and has created a thick, creamy sauce (much like a bechamel). If the pasta seems a bit too watery, remember it will become denser after plating.

  Serve immediately and Buon appetito!

  

We’ll say it again: Always use freshly ground black pepper in this dish to maximize the pepper flavor. Use a mortar and pestle to get a mix of fine and medium pepper grains, or use a medium-coarse setting on a pepper grinder.

Don’t have a kitchen thermometer?

When making the pecorino cream paste for the sauce, let the hot pasta water sit for about 30 seconds before adding it to the cheese. Then, slowly drizzle it into the cheese, mixing continuously.

We highly recommend just investing in a thermometer. They are cheap and will make otherwise tricky recipes very easy! However, the drizzle method will work in a pinch.

Why do I need to measure my pasta water?

By using less water to cook the pasta, we create a pasta richer in starch (from the cooking pasta). This starch allows us to create a creamy sauce— without adding heavy cream or another emulsifier to bind with the cheese.

The rule of thumb? Use just less than 2 cups (500 ml) of water for every serving of pasta to get the pasta water starchy enough for use in the next steps. When making pasta for four, that is 6 3/4 cups (1600 ml) of water.