how to make REAL CACIO E PEPE like they do in ROME


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This is how to make real cacio e pepe , the classic Roman pasta dish. Cacio e pepe is one of the simplest pasta dishes to make …

43 replies
  1. mademoiselle madī
    mademoiselle madī says:

    I made this 5 mins ago and it was awesome! Just one question – why did pecorino paste stick to the bottom of the pan and made crushed peppers form lumps? Was it because I cooked it too long after adding paste? Or not enough pasta water?

    Reply
  2. Sky Miller
    Sky Miller says:

    Haha I just made this and when my husband was playing his game I gave him a bite and he was like “that’s really good, but it’s way too buttery and creamy for me right now” I laughed so hard and was like “babe. Spaghetti, black pepper, pecorino. That’s it”

    He was so shocked and he didn’t believe me until I made him watch this video.

    Reply
  3. Leo Fragale
    Leo Fragale says:

    Idk if he mentioned it, but on the off chance someone about to make this dish reads this comment, either do not salt the pasta water or salt it very lightly because the pecorino is obviously very salty so if the pasta water is salted like the sea then the dish will be too salty in the end

    Reply
  4. PLF
    PLF says:

    your pasta is too hot when you add the cheese… You want it to emulsify, not stretch and turn lumpy. It's not the time sitting at the board that's key here, and that's why it's not as creamy as it should be. One tip though – cook the spaghetti in the pan from the start in water just covering the spaghetti, then you get the maximum amount of starch without adding (e.g. reserved pasta water).

    If you're really suave you can use fresh pasta and make the entire dish in about 2 minutes – but for this you need an induction hub, since you need to boil off that water very quickly. I use a 3000 kWh induction wok.

    Reply
  5. MsP_is your teacher
    MsP_is your teacher says:

    Thank you so much for describing the difference between Parm Regg and Pecorino Romano! I have been looking into it. I don’t usually see it at the store, but I am definitely going to look next time! I love the nuttiness of the Parm, I’m excited to try Pecorino!

    Reply
  6. CaptainSlowbeard
    CaptainSlowbeard says:

    I am genuinely near to tears. I thought I remembered how to make this from the last time I watched this a year ago… I mean how hard can it be? It's just pasta, pepper, and cheese.
    Apparently quite hard. I'm currently gnawing my way through pasta that is simultaneously over and undercooked, covered in a "sauce" that is simultaneously unpleasantly watery, oily, and cheesy (not in a good way)

    I really wish I'd just spent less than 7 minutes watching this before I cooked it rather than afterwards wondering what went wrong and comparing my mush with that delicious looking pasta

    🙁

    Reply
  7. lovepack54
    lovepack54 says:

    Wish you would add a suggested protein for these dishes. I would love to try these but I would end up eating way to many carbs when I could balance it out with a protein.

    Reply
  8. Robert Scherb
    Robert Scherb says:

    Hello – Love the show.

    I've tried making your Cacio & Pepe, but EVERYTIME I mess it up. The cheese turns to glue once I mix in the skillet with the Pasta. Even when I've turned off the heat. Can you help?

    Reply
  9. overseastom
    overseastom says:

    How did you get the cheese to form a paste, instead of just a seized & congealed mass?! In the video you look to be adding it straight from the pasta pot, implying that it's still really hot water, so was the water just way starchier? I swear my water was quite cloudy, so I'd be surprised if that's it. I wonder if I simply added too much pasta water to mine (a smallish amount of microplaned cheese can look like a mountain, I think). I failed today :/ Learned from my mistake y'all – hopefully someone else can identify the error, but in the meantime, just use a tiny bit of water while making the paste, even if it looks like a lot of cheese, cos you can always add more gradually.

    Reply
  10. Ram Kash
    Ram Kash says:

    Hello Steve, anyone who may read this, can you please help a mid thirty-year-old first-time male who is failing beyond belief? I attempted to make this today and it was a complete disaster for me, I'm starting to think I know why butter is recommended. Basically the issue I had was that the cheese clumped in with the pepper to create like these three big globs around my pan. It would never really become a homogeneous mixture. I was thinking a few options, the first was maybe my pan was too big for the small portion I was cooking? Would you recommend I use a less expensive cheese to master the technique? Any help I could get to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply
  11. TheSuperfluousMan
    TheSuperfluousMan says:

    Absolute trash. This is NOT how they make cacio e pepe in Rome. Adding water to the sauce… makes it watery, and the result is that the fats CANNOT cling onto the pasta. That’s why you always DRAIN the pasta. It’s fine to have your own bland tasting take but to claim this is how Italians make this is a joke

    Reply

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