Sartorial Host's Cacio e Pepe
By request, I’m sharing my cacio e pepe recipe that I hope will quickly become your favorite go to as it has become mine. This creamy and peppery sauce goes perfectly with any pasta, but my preference has always been a thicker spaghetti. Spaghetti alla chitarra is a square cross-section shaped spaghetti that I’ve found to be the perfect vessel to deliver this glossy sauce. Bucatini can tend to flip around on the fork when you are twirling a bite and regular spaghetti tends to be a little too thin to carry the weight of the sauce. Starchy pasta water is your best friend for this dish as it helps to break up the cheese and create the binder and heat for the ultimate sauce. Always go for freshly grated cheese versus store bought grated cheese. The stabilizer in the store bought cheese doesn’t quite break down and will leave you with a bit of grit and chew in the sauce. It’s a simple recipe with few ingredients, but it does take a little skill to ensure the right balance of starchy water to cheese. It may take a few go arounds, but ultimately, you’ll learn that gut feeling when you know the sauce is just perfection!
CACIO E PEPE
ingredients
16 oz spaghetti alla chitarra (thick spaghetti), bucatini, or pappardelle
8 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 to 2 Tbsp cracked black pepper, to preference
1 cup Grano Padano, freshly grated
1 cup Parmesan, freshly grated
2/3 cup Pecorino, freshly grated
STEPS
In a large stock pot, boil water and season well with salt and extra virgin olive oil. Cook the dried pasta until slightly undercooked, a minute or two before al dente.
When the pasta is just about ready, heat the butter and cracked black pepper on medium-low heat in a large saucepan to slightly toast the pepper and take the edge off the bite.
Add the pasta to the butter and pepper. Add 2/3 cup of starchy pasta water to the saucepan and stir to combine.
Slowly add the Grano Padano and stir to combine. Then add the parmesan, stir and finally the pecorino and stir. As you are mixing in the grated cheese, feel free to liberally add more pasta water to ensure the right consistency.
The result should be a silky and lustrous sauce. Serve immediately and garnish with cracked pepper and freshly grated parmesan.
