Believe it or not, only 3 ingredients! Cacio e pepe pasta is also for lovers of Maccaroni and Cheese. It’s a simple dish but it delivers amazing flavours and it is the foundation of pasta recipes: add ham to this and it becomes a la Gricia, add egg to this and it becomes spaghetti a la carbonara. Never thought three ingredients would be possible. A lot of people get this recipe wrong, thinking it’s just a pepper and cheese pasta. The grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese is emulsified into the pasta water creating a smooth and creamy sauce which coats the pasta. It’s best to stir or toss vigorously until you reach a smooth and silky sauce.
The three ingredients:
Pasta
cheese (parmesan or pecorino)
freshly cracked pepper
Boil pasta as you normally would, add pepper to pre-season it a bit, add no oil
When cooked, add grated cheese, some pasta water, mix well until the starch in the pasta water and the cheese thickens a bit to form the sauce.
Done! Enjoy.