Cacio e Pepe

Ron Nebrerecipes, Savoury

Featuring a smooth, creamy sauce that your whole family is sure to love, Cacio e Pepe is a simple pasta dish that is going to quickly become a staple around your dinner table. The best part about this recipe? All you need is a few very simple ingredients!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2400 ml / 10 cups water
  • 18 g / 1 tbsp salt
  • 3 g / 2 tsp coarse black pepper, freshly ground
  • 227 g / 1/2 pkg spaghetti
  • 100 g/ 1 cup Pecorino Romano, finely grated
  • 19 g / 4 tsp Mirage margarine

Directions

1. Place a large pot, on high heat, with approximately 10 cups (2400 millilitres) of water and 1 tablespoon (18 grams) of salt. Bring to a boil.

2. Carefully drop the spaghetti into the boiling water, stirring occasionally to prevent pasta from sticking together and from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Set timer to 6 minutes, or a minute or two before the package suggests that the pasta will be done.

3. Meanwhile, halfway through the cooking of the spaghetti, gently toast the coarsely ground pepper in a large skillet over medium heat until fragrant; about 2 minutes. Add about 2 ladlefuls (1 cup / 240 millilitres) of the pasta water to the toasted black pepper and 3 teaspoons (14 grams) of the Mirage margarine into the skillet.

4. Stir in Mirage margarine, until melted, and let the water begin to bubble and foam. Add the al dente pasta to the skillet, shaking the pan and coating the pasta with the mixture. Lower heat to low and continue to stir occasionally until water slightly reduces; about 2 minutes.
5. Place the finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese into a heatproof bowl. Add about 1/4 cup (60 millilitres) of the hot pasta water into the cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.
6. Mix in the remaining teaspoon of Mirage margarine. Slowly stir in an additional 1/4 cup (60 millilitres) of the hot pasta water into the Pecorino Romano cheese mixture until a smooth sauce is formed.

7. Turn off heat and remove skillet. Add in the cheese mixture. Stir and shake pan until cheese gets incorporated into the pasta; about 2 to 3 minutes.

8. If pasta seems dry, add a small amount of hot pasta water to the spaghetti. Stir spaghetti until the pasta water is absorbed somewhat into the cheese mixture, but still remains creamy.
Serve the pasta immediately. Garnish with more grated pecorino cheese and freshly cracked pepper, if desired.

Chef’s Notes

  • Do not drain the pasta, as you will need additional pasta water for the sauce. The starch in the pasta water helps the creamy cheese-pepper sauce to coat and cling to the spaghetti.
  • As this is a recipe with very few ingredients, make sure to use the best Pecorino Romano cheese available to you.