Italy
Photo: Popo le Chien, CC BY-SA 3.0, croppedCacio e pepe
/ˈkaːtʃo e pˈpeːpe/KAH-cho eh PAY-peh
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- Taste
- SavoryRich
- Made with
- Wheat & flourDairy & cheese
History
Cacio e pepe is pasta, usually tonnarelli or spaghetti, tossed with grated pecorino romano and a lot of black pepper, made creamy with the starchy pasta water. Cacio is the word for cheese in Roman and southern dialects. The dish is often linked to the shepherds of the Roman countryside, who carried dried pasta, aged pecorino and pepper because they lasted for long periods in the pastures, though this origin story has no clear record. Its three ingredients make it look easy, but getting a smooth sauce without lumps of cheese is a well-known test. It is one of the four classic pastas of Rome, with carbonara, amatriciana and gricia.
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