Cacio e Pepe
I am among those people who eat lots of pasta. For one its
power food, which gives me my strength for my daily workout and keeps me going
throughout the day. The other reason is that it’s quick and simple in terms of
preparation and not too shabby at all when prepared nicely.
Cacio e Pepe
Cacio e pepe means cheese and pepper and that is the essence
of this well-loved dish. It‘s one pasta that highlights that simplicity. All
that you need is thin spaghetti made with Durum wheat. It is that hard durum
wheat that allows the pasta to be cooked “al dente”. Al dente translates as “to-the-tooth”
meaning the pasta is cooked and
consumable but the center is slightly underdone
- -it gives some bite or texture to the tooth. If I have the choice I gravitate
to whole-wheat pasta because of the wholesomeness. When I cook cacio e pepe though
I make an exception and prefer the refined, white pasta because it tends to
absorb the sauce better.
I learned the following Cacio e pepe cooking method from my
Italian chef buddies, these guys made sure to make me understand to follow the
steps religiously. Indeed I have adopted it and it’s always a success.
Cacio e pepe
(recipe yields four servings)
2 tablespoons whole black pepper corn
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 lb thin spaghetti pasta
¼ cup vegetable oil such as canola or grape seed
1 pinch pepper flakes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 ounces butter
2 tablespoons, chopped Italian parsley
2 ounces Pecorino Romano, grated
- Fold peppercorns in a clean kitchen towel and pound it with a meat hammer, small sauce-pot or any other heavy object. The black pepper should be cracked and no more peppercorns should be whole.
- In a 6-inch skillet combine cracked pepper, pepper flakes, vegetable oil and 1-tablespoon olive oil. On medium heat setting cook peppercorns for 10 minutes. The pepper should be lightly bubbling but not frying - this will extract the pepper flavor and soften the cracked pepper fragments.
- In a gallon-sized pot bring 3 qt water to a rolling boil on high heat setting. Cook pasta for 7 minutes. At this point the pasta is very al dente. Pour the pasta through a colander and reserve 2 cups of the pasta cooking water. Spread pasta with kitchen tongues over a cookie sheet pan - this will prevent the pasta from sticking together. Let the pasta cool at room temperature.
- In the gallon-sized pot heat 1 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water then add pasta and pepper/oil mixture. Heat pasta for 1-2 minutes.
- On the side of the stove add the rest of the olive oil, butter, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Serve the pasta immediately.
Chef’s Tip: Serve the pasta with ciabatta bread.
