How to Make Cacio e Pepe

Julia Bainbridge
·Food Editor
Updated

Cacio e Pepe
Serves 4

For a smooth sauce such as the simple butter, pepper, and cheese mixture in cacio e pepe, use long, thin pasta ribbons. 

Coarse sea salt
½ lb. bucatini pasta
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tsp. freshly cracked pepper
1 cup grana padano cheese, grated
1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese, grated
1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet. Add the 1 cup of pasta water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and grind black pepper into the skillet.

Drain pasta and add it to the melted butter mixture. Mix in grana padano and cook until the cheese melts and the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Turn off heat and stir in pecorino cheese. If pasta looks dry, toss it with a little extra water.

Grate nutmeg over pasta and gently toss. Serve immediately.

More on pasta:
Two-Ingredient Pasta Dough
Mario Batali’s Essential Pasta Tools
How to Properly Salt Your Pasta Water

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