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Cacio e Pepe (Pasta with Black Pepper)

4.37 Mitt(s) 8 Rating(s)8 votes, average: 4.37 out of 58 votes, average: 4.37 out of 58 votes, average: 4.37 out of 58 votes, average: 4.37 out of 58 votes, average: 4.37 out of 5

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Description

So simple. So good. The only thing missing is the Italian cafe/restaurant setting. But you can enjoy this bit of Rome right in your home.

Ingredients

  • ½ pounds Spaghetti Noodles
  • 1 Tablespoon Butter
  • ½ cups Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese, Divided Use
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 2 teaspoons Fresh Cracked Black Pepper, Divided Use

Preparation

Boil spaghetti in salted water until al dente (using package instructions for timing). Drain the pasta but reserve pasta water.

Heat a pan and add ½ cup pasta water and butter. When butter starts to melt, add the cooked pasta and toss well. Then add half of the cheese, the salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper and keep tossing. The cheese will melt and form a creamy sauce. Remove from heat, into a bowl, sprinkle with the rest of the pepper and cheese and serve right away.

Note: you can make the dish with leftover plain spaghetti if you keep the reserved pasta water.

11 Comments

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Carla P on 9.29.2010

Is thre something you can substitute for the pecorino romano cheese?

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ExpatCucina on 9.29.2010

LOL, this is what my grandma used to make for me and my cousins when she had nothing left in the fridge. Simple and tasty. It’s not served in resaturants tho…at least in Italy. But I agree that it’s one of the best comfort food ever!

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Pretty. Good. Food. on 9.28.2010

Sounds so easy but so tasty!

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Aggie's Kitchen on 9.28.2010

A dish like this is just totally irresistable for me. Total comfort food. Looks deli
cious!

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Caitlin on 9.28.2010

Cacio e pepe is so wonderful! The black pepper can be surprisingly spicy in this dish. This recipe is actually nearly identical to the recipe I already use!

By the way, from a foreign languages minor, cacio means cheese!

8 Reviews

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misssweething on 2.14.2011

My mission in life is to fined those simple, tasty, earthy pasta dishes that you can imagine yourself eating while spending a holiday in Florence with the hot italian waiter that keeps asking you to come back at the end of his shift so he can take you dancing. This one does that for me.

It is super easy and satisfying. Be sure to get good quality parm, it makes a big difference. I catch myself making a small bowl of this pasta as a late night snack.

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daniellep on 1.20.2011

I tweeked the recipe a little. I used shredded parmesan because thats all I had. I had to add a little cream to it, but I think I got the same results. It was simple and tasty and a great side with chicken!

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lovemesomebuggy on 1.14.2011

This was good. I had this with parmesan crusted chicken and the combination was delish! I had a problem with the parmesan cheese clumping together in the pasta… don’t know if I was doing something wrong.

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kitchenlovenest on 1.5.2011

I really liked it, but thought that with the salt in the pasta water, the salt in the cheese, and the added salt, it was just a little too salty–right on the limit of being uncomfortably salty. With a little less salt, it’s a perfectly marvelous dish, the kind of thing I would make for myself when my husband’s out of town. Simple and flavorful.

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kerensa on 10.11.2010

Very good!
This was lovely by itself, so simply. I always have cheese but rarely cream or half& half so it’s nice to have a cheesy pasta dish. This would also be a good blank slate for any kind of veggies.

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