Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe has simple, but important steps to achieve authentic taste and texture. No butter or cream is used, just Pecorino Romano cheese and freshly ground black peppercorns. Tonnarelli pasta is classic, but plain spaghetti works wonderfully, too. Start with a classic Caesar salad and finish the meal with homemade tiramisu for an Italian feast you won’t soon forget.
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🧀 The Ingredients
There aren’t a lot of steps in this recipe, and there are even fewer ingredients, but they are all so important. This is one of those dishes that is worth it to seek out top-notch ingredients, which usually calls for a little planning.
✍🏻 Notes on the Ingredients
- Coarse Sea or Kosher Salt – You’ll need this to add to the water for boiling the pasta. You’d normally add twice this amount to the water, but Pecorino Romano is a fairly salty cheese, so half the amount is just right.
- Pasta – Long tubular pasta is what you want. Spaghetti or bucatini is commonly used, but if you can find it (or order it online), then go with tonnarelli.
- Pecorino Romano – This cheese is made from sheep’s milk and is used in authentic Cacio e Pepe. Seek out high-quality, if possible. The more aged the better. You can usually find this at Italian specialty markets or online.
- Black Pepper – For the best results, toast whole peppercorns until fragrant and then crush them with a mortar and pestle.
Expert Tip
The best way to cook with Pecorino Romano is to buy it in block form and then use the small grate holes in a box grater to grate the cheese. You’ll need about 7 to 8 ounces. This may seem like a lot, but you’ll use almost all of it, if not all.
How To Make Tonarelli Cacio e Pepe
- Step 1: Grind the toasted peppercorns with a mortar and pestle (or in a spice grinder).
- Step 2: Place pasta in salted boiling water.
- Step 3: Warm the pasta bowl by placing it over the boiling pasta water.
- Step 4: Add the pasta to the warm bowl and stir in the cheese and some pasta water.
- Step 5: Sprinkle the ground pepper over the pasta and mix.
- Step 6: Toss until creamy. Plate and serve!
🍽️ How To Serve
- This dish is absolutely best when served right after being tossed with pasta water, cheese, and pepper.
- It makes for a wonderful appetizer or “primi” dish. Just before a wonderful main dish, or “secondi” dish, such as Italian pot roast, lemon chicken piccata, or seared haddock agrodolce.
- WINE PAIRING: Cacio e Pepe pairs wonderfully with red, white, and/or rosé. For white, a nice Pinot Grigio is our 1st choice. For red, Pinto Noir or Cabernet. For Rosé, we love Whispering Angel.
🔥 How To Store and Reheat
- While this dish is best served fresh from the skillet, leftovers will still be tasty.
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container with a lid in the refrigerator for up to several days.
- Reheat in a skillet over medium heat. You’ll need to add several splashes of broth (chicken or vegetable) to loosen the sauce.
🙋🏽♂️ Frequently Asked Questions
Traditional is tonnarelli. But you’ll need to seek out an Italian food market to find them or order online. Regular spaghetti is a great substitute.
You will still have a delicious dish if you don’t toast the peppercorns before crushing them. However, toasting deepens the flavor. Pepper is one of the few (but key) ingredients, so going the extra step pays off.
Keep stirring and gradually add in pasta water with the grated cheese until you get the right saucy consistency. This dish isn’t an overly creamy sauce, like Creamy Shrimp Alfredo with Fettuccini.
🍝 Other Classic Italian Pasta Recipes
Ready to make the best pasta dish on this side of Rome? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe
Video
Equipment
- Pot for boiling pasta
- Box grater for grating the Pecorino Romano
- Mortar and pestle or spice grinder
- Large pasta bowl
Ingredients
- ½ cup black peppercorns
- 2 tablespoon coarse sea salt or coarse Kosher salt
- 14 oz pasta tonnarelli or spaghetti
- 10 oz Pecorino Romano grated
Instructions
Do Ahead
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the whole peppercorns and stir gently until they become aromatic, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.½ cup black peppercorns
- Add to a mortar and pestle and grind them until they become powdery and grey in color, about 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
Prepare the Cacio e Pepe
- Bring a large pot of boiling water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoon of coarse salt.2 tablespoon coarse sea salt
- Add the pasta to the water. Stir to keep the pasta from sticking together. A couple of minutes before the pasta becomes al dente, place your pasta bowl over the pot. (This heats the pasta bowl and helps to make a creamy sauce).14 oz pasta
- Use kitchen towels to remove the pasta bowl and check the pasta to make sure it's cooked to al dente.
- Drain the pasta but save the water.
- Add the pasta to the warmed pasta bowl. Working in batches, add the cheese and ladle in some pasta water, stirring everything together constantly.10 oz Pecorino Romano
- Add about 2 tablespoon of the ground pepper and keep stirring until the cheese and water create a creamy sauce that clings to the pasta. If too runny, add more cheese. If too thick, add more pasta water.
- Serve immediately with additional ground pepper tableside.
Wes says
Cheese and Pepper!! I’ll take it!