Must Know: Cacio e Pepe, Storia e Tecnica (Italian Cacio e Pepe, History and Technique)

Cacio e Pepe

Cacio e Pepe

Story of the Dish

Few dishes represent the philosophy of Roman cooking as completely as Cacio e Pepe.

The ingredient list is almost brutally simple: pasta, Pecorino Romano and black pepper. Yet behind those three ingredients lies one of the most technically demanding emulsions in traditional Italian pasta cooking.

There is no cream to correct the consistency, no butter required to stabilize the sauce, no garlic, no parsley and no elaborate garnish.

The creaminess must come from Pecorino Romano, concentrated pasta water, starch, controlled temperature and proper mantecatura.

That is precisely what makes Cacio e Pepe extraordinary.

It is a dish in which technique becomes an ingredient.

Chef Gianluca