Eataly's Cacio e Pepe

10 mins Prep Time

10 mins Cook Time

Written By

TasteToronto

Nothing gets quite as simple as cacio e pepe and as the Italians know, the simplest dishes tend to be the most delicious. Cacio e pepe requires only a handful of ingredients -- that you're bound to already have in your kitchen -- so there's no excuse not to make Eataly's recipe for the staple Italian dish.

If you give this recipe a shot, make sure to post up your creation on Instagram and tag @tastetoronto and @eatalytoronto!

Ingredients

Cacio e Pepe

1 pound spaghetti di Gragnano
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp whole black peppercorns (or more), to taste
1½ cups Pecorino Romano DOP, freshly grated, to taste

Directions

Cacio e Pepe

6 Steps

Step 1

Bring a large pot with 6 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil.
Step 2

Grind the peppercorns very coarsely, preferable crushing them in a mortar with a pestle or in a spice grinder.
Step 3

Warm up a big bowl for serving the pasta. Use some of the pasta water to heat the bowl, if you like.
Step 4

Cook the spaghetti until al dente. Quickly lift it from the pot with tongs, let it drain for an instant, then drop it into the warm bowl.
Step 5

Immediately scatter a cup of the grated cheese and most of the ground pepper on the pasta, and toss in quickly. As you mix, sprinkle over a spoonful of hot water from the cooking pot to moisten and amalgamate the pasta and condiments -- add more pepper or cheese to taste.
Step 6

Serve right away, while the spaghetti is very hot.