To make the sauce, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1.5 tablespoons ground peppercorns to a cold saucepan. Turn the heat up to medium-high. When the peppercorns begins to simmer cook for one minute—peppercorns should be fragrant. Remove from heat. It’s important that the pan cools down quickly!
Bring your pot of water to a boil and season with salt. Use 3/4 of the water you’d normally use. We want the water to be really starchy. Add your pasta into the boiling water and cook until very al dente (about 1-2 minutes less than the package requires).
Micro-plane cheese (70% Pecorino Parmesan, 30% Parmesan cheese) - the finer the better.
Once the water is starchy remove 4-5 tablespoons of the starchy water. Add 3 tablespoons to your pan with olive oil and peppercorns. Add in 2 tablespoons butter and swirl to emulsify.
Strain your pasta after it has cooked 9/10 of the way and add it to the saucepan that you made the sauce in. Add a handful of cheese to start and stir the mixture together (reserve some of the grated cheese for plating). If you need to thin the sauce use your remaining starchy water (tap water is also fine). Sprinkle the remaining on top once plated. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Cacio e Pepe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 1011Calories from Fat 414
% Daily Value*
Fat 46g71%
Saturated Fat 22g138%
Polyunsaturated Fat 3g
Monounsaturated Fat 19g
Cholesterol 99mg33%
Sodium 1615mg70%
Potassium 472mg13%
Carbohydrates 93g31%
Fiber 6g25%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 54g108%
Vitamin A 744IU15%
Calcium 1350mg135%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.