Pasta Alla Cacio E Pepe
"This is purported to be "the best quick meal" we've ever tasted, as per Yvonne Ruperti in Cook's Illustrated. There are two other recipes for cacio e pepe (pasta with Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper) on RecipeZaar, but this one adds at least one more ingredient to keep the cheese from turning into a big clump. Add cream. This recipe was reprinted as "recipe of the week" in The Week magazine."
photo by Jonathan Melendez
- Ready In:
- 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 6
- Serves:
-
4-6
ingredients
- 6 ounces pecorino romano cheese (2 cups finely grated and 1 cup coarsely grated)
- 1 lb spaghetti
- table salt
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
directions
- Place finely grated Pecorino Romano in medium bowl. Set colander inside large bowl.
- Bring 2 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add pasta and salt; cook, stirring frequently, until al dente (or according to package directions). Drain pasta into colander, reserving cooking water. Pour 1 1/2 cups cooking water into liquid measuring cup and discard remainder. Return pasta to now-empty bowl.
- Slowly whisk 1 cup of reserved pasta water into finely grated Pecorino until smooth. Whisk in cream, oil, and black pepper. Gradually pour mixture over pasta, tossing to coat. Let pasta rest 1 to 2 minutes, tossing frequently, adjusting consistency with remaining pasta water. Serve, passing coarsely grated Pecorino separately.
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Reviews
-
I didn't give this a rating because I didn't follow the recipe. I saw this dish made on America's Test Kitchen last week and was happy to find the recipe posted here. But when I went to make it, I realized that I didn't have any heavy cream, so tried to substitute half-and-half. That didn't quite work out very well. The sauce was just slightly less than smooth and melted cheese stuck to the bottom of the serving bowl.<br/><br/>Also, don't use more cooking water than called for. I used a quart and a half to boil 1/2 pound of pasta when the recipe specified 2 quarts for a whole pound. I understand the starch in the pasta water is an important part of this recipe, so that may have also had some bearing on the sauce consistency.<br/><br/>The flavor was great, and it couldn't have been easier to put together. The next time, I'll be sure to measure the water before adding the pasta. And I'll be sure to use heavy cream. No substitutions! -
This is one of my all time favorite Italian dishes. The recipe is so easy to make and comes together in no time at all@! -
Quick, easy and delicious!! I halved the recipe for DH and I, although I realise now I used all the cream - lol, well, it was lovely, I must say! Al dente pasta lightly coated with a creamy cheesy sauce, I gave it a generous grinding of black pepper and garnished with fresh basil, it was delicious and I will definitely be preparing my pasta in this fashion again! It would have been nice to have leftovers, but I finished it off.. it was just so nice!!! Next time, I'll have to make a full recipe! :D Made for veg*n swap#19
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Kumquat the Cats fr
New York City, 72
<p>Clockwise from upper left, my dear friends Cranberry, Quincy, Kumquat and Kiwi. All of our cats were born in the wild and adopted by us. Zaar Chefs I have met so far: Elmotoo, justcallmeToni, ~Rita~, Midwest Maven, Bird&Buddha (both of them) and most recently, Ms*Bindy from upstate New York:) Wonderful, sweet, friendly people and great chefs! Most relevant thing to mention here is that I am a vegetarian, and recently became a vegan (almost 100%). To put vegetables and other things not meat or fish on the table I work as an actuary (in my case anyway, a combination of statistician, number-cruncher and/or programmer). For fun I like to travel. Just came back from Namibia, a peaceful democracy in Africa with lots of animals! Got some terrific pictures of lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, rhinocerous, hyenas, all kinds of antelopes, giraffes and zebras. Namibia is the second most sparsely populated country per square mile, just behind Mongolia. Update: We went to Italy this Spring. We had lots of pizza and pasta. The pizza is so much better in Italy, particularly the crust. The Amalfi coast was absolutely beautiful. Spectacular natural scenery (Canada and Alaska are really beautiful, Patagonia in Chile is sublime, Iceland is unique) has been my latest passion as far as travel destinations but I have seen quite a few big cities too (Paris, Berlin, London and Madrid to name a few). On my bulletin board at work I keep a list of every country I've visited (other than the U.S. of course). So far I've made it to five continents: Europe, Africa, South America, Asia and North America of course. I've got only two other continents to conquer:) I don't usually have difficulty finding vegetarian dishes here in the U.S. or overseas, but finding vegan dishes is much harder. I have no kids, just cats, Kumquat, Cranberry, and more recently Quincy and Kiwi. They are purebreds, of the breed alley caticus (okay, American shorthair I guess). Our cats are not vegetarians, though my boyfriend (significant other, long-term partner, whatever) is. I am a friend of all animals both tamed and wild. In addition I am a freethinker and my boyfriend studies philosophy. Either way, we get along pretty well. Also, please allow me to say that my BF and I recently bought a condominium in NYC.:) Pet peeve? Okay, I don't like public scenes, especially parents yelling at their children, lovers' spats, etc. If it must be done please do it in private:D Participation & Awards:</p>
