Cacio e Pepe: What to Make When You’ve Forgotten to Plan Dinner (Again)
I’m not entirely sure I remember how to be a food blogger anymore. So I’m starting small, with a simple pasta dish that has saved us more evenings than I can count.
This recipe was introduced on a late Tuesday when both my husband and I had somehow forgotten that humans need to eat. We stood staring into an almost empty refrigerator with the kind of desperation that comes from being too hungry to think clearly. What can you make with almost nothing that still tastes like you tried?
Pasta, we always have. Every year I empty an Italian supermarket of their spaghetti and olive oil like I’m preparing for some kind of carbohydrate apocalypse. In the fridge: butter and parmesan. That was enough for cacio e pepe, which translates to “cheese and pepper” and is exactly what it sounds like.
On Breaking Italian Rules
Here’s where I get into trouble. I’m almost certain the original recipe contains no butter whatsoever, and I’ve added butter to mine. There are Italian grandmothers turning in their graves at the very thought. But I like it with butter, so butter it is.
You can make it without, of course. Use the hot pasta water to emulsify with the cheese directly in the pan with the pasta and pepper. You’ll need a bit more cheese to get it creamy.
Problem number two: I used parmesan. The original calls for Pecorino Romano. The dish is from Rome, so this makes perfect sense. But I prefer parmesan, and this is my kitchen, not Rome.
About the pasta itself: the whiter the pasta, generally the better the quality. As you can see in my photos, I didn’t buy the pale stuff this time, so regular pasta works just fine.
Cacio e Pepe
Serves 2
You’ll need:
- 250g spaghetti
- 25g butter
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground, this matters)
- 150g parmesan, finely grated
- 2 dl pasta water (reserved)
What you do:
Start heating water for the pasta. While it comes to a boil, grate your parmesan. This is not the time for pre-grated cheese from a plastic container. Fresh or nothing.
Cook the spaghetti in salted water, pulling it two minutes before the package says it’s done. Reserve two deciliters of the starchy pasta water before draining.
In a large warm pan, grind your pepper generously. Let it toast for a minute or two until it smells sharp and alive, then add the butter. Let it foam and sizzle but don’t let it brown.
Add the not-quite-cooked pasta to the pan along with half the pasta water and all the parmesan. The pasta will finish cooking here. Give everything some heat and add the rest of the pasta water gradually, tossing constantly until the sauce becomes creamy and clings to each strand.
Serve immediately with more parmesan on top, because there’s no such thing as too much cheese.