Italian · Main
Cacio e Pepe
Three ingredients, zero hiding places — square-cut fresh tonnarelli and a pecorino emulsion built at exactly the right temperature so it never seizes
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 00 flour — 200 g
- fine semolina — 100 g
- whole eggs — 3
- Pecorino Romano, finely grated — 160 g
- black peppercorns — 8 g
- fine salt — for the water only
Method
- Knead flours and eggs; rest 45 minutes. Roll to 2 mm and cut on the chitarra (or thick-cut setting) into square-section strands.
- Toast peppercorns in a dry pan 2 minutes; crush coarsely. Return two-thirds to the pan.
- Boil tonnarelli in barely salted water (the cheese is salty) 2 minutes.
- Add 150 ml pasta water to the pepper pan; simmer 30 seconds.
- Meanwhile whisk the pecorino with 80 ml cooler pasta water (about 60°C) to a smooth, thick cream.
- Drag pasta into the pepper pan, toss 45 seconds, then pull OFF the heat for 30 seconds.
- Add the cheese cream, tossing fast — the residual heat sets a silk emulsion. Adjust with drops of water.