Cacio e Pepe: this traditional Roman pasta (one of the classic four!) is so simple (literally the name means CHEESE & PEPPER) and comes together in under 20 minutes - making it the ideal pasta night dish!
Toast whole peppercorns over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes to extract the oils. Transfer to a pepper grinder or mortar and pestle and grind to a medium coarse grind. Add back to your pan with the heat off.
Cook your spaghetti (or pasta of choice) in lightly salted water. 2 minutes before the pasta is done, reserve 1 cup of pasta water and set on the counter to let cool to about 150F or 70C - this is the key to avoiding lumpy cheese! Adding pasta water straight from the pot is much too hot.
Still of the heat, add 3/4 of your grated cheese to your peppercorns along with a 1/4 cup of pasta water at a time, stirring until you get a loose but emulsified sauce.
Add your drained pasta and mix vigorously. At this point your pasta should start to absorb the sauce, but add additional pasta water and mix if the sauce is too thick. Continue mixing until you achieve the correct consistency (refer to video). Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
My #1 Expert Tip for Making the Creamiest Cacio e Pepe EVERYTIME
I have made Cacio e Pepe hundreds of times and I discovered a couple years ago exactly what helped me make it perfectly every time. Are you ready?Your pasta water needs to be cooled slightly to 150 degrees Fahrenheit or 70 degrees Celsius BEFORE mixing it into the sauce. The reason is that your pasta water, which was just boiling to cook your pasta, is oftentimes TOO HOT - which leads to the sauce becoming clumpy. I noticed that once I started waiting for my pasta water to cool to 150 degrees Fahrenheit (or 70 degrees Celsius), I stopped having any issues with my sauce becoming clumpy.