Spaghetti cacio e Pepe, the dish that made the history of Roman cuisine

Spaghetti cacio e Pepe are one of the tastiest and most well-known dishes in the Lazio culinary tradition, like carbonara and amatriciana. Every self-respecting Roman has this dish as a fixed variant on the weekly menu and now, thanks to the taste and goodness of the recipe despite the simplicity of the ingredients, spaghetti cheese and pepper have become a rather common dish in Italy, where it is eaten from north to south without exception. Despite its simplicity, in reality this dish is not as immediate as it might seem and, on the contrary, execution errors are very frequent, mainly due to the wrong proportions. But don't be afraid! Let's immediately discover how to prepare a plate of spaghetti cheese and pepper to test the Lazio

palate.

Spaghetti cheese and pepper: what are the origins and the inevitable ingredients

Spaghetti cacio e Pepe is a traditional dish, a preparation created using few local ingredients. This is a poor, popular meal, whose history dates back to the time of transhumance, an ancient custom that consisted of transporting grazing animals from the gentle plains to the verdant pastures of the Roman countryside. The shepherds and farmers, during these trips, used to stock up on poor ingredients that were not easily perishable, simple to carry and yet tasty. And which are the typical Lazio products that match these characteristics? Black peppercorns, a spice that stimulates heat receptors allowing shepherds to protect themselves from the cold, pecorino Romano, also known as cheese, and dried spaghetti, excellent for filling hungry bellies after a long day of walking.
Spaghetti cacio e Pepe, due to their goodness and speed of execution, soon became a widespread dish throughout Italy but, as is often the case with dishes that cross regional borders, with many variations.

But let's get to the point: today, what are the ingredients considered 'official' to prepare this dish?
First of all, Pecorino Romano, the real and only undisputed protagonist of the recipe. The form must be grated before preparation, remembering that the more it is aged, the more it will need high temperatures to melt and form the cream that we like so much, which is why it is better to prefer a medium-aged pecorino cheese. A very common mistake is to add bacon or bacon to the plate, but be careful! If it is true that pillow is a traditional ingredient that has always been within reach of farmers, it is also true that as far as pasta is concerned it was (and is) used for other first courses, but not for cheese and pepper. So let's ban pillow and other fats such as butter and oil.

Rather, a special eye goes to the pasta. Only spaghetti or tonnarelli should be used, a little thicker and more porous and ideal for collecting sauce. The pasta should not be scalded, but al dente! Do not make the mistake of going away to do other things just while cooking the pasta. The ideal would be to drain it two-thirds of the time and complete the cooking in a pot with pepper and cheese, where a delicious cream will be created, on which there are two schools of thought. In fact, there are those who prepare the cream before adding it to the pasta and those who add the cheese directly to the pot. All you have to do is try it and find out what your philosophy is.

Cheese and Pepe, the original recipe

We have already mentioned that cheese and pepper requires only three ingredients: pasta, pepper and Pecorino Romano cheese. Don't underestimate the execution, it will take a certain amount of manual skill to obtain a good cream without lumps, perfect for making a shoe worth ten cum laude.

Before we start, let's reveal the secret to a good plate of spaghetti cheese and pepper. Everything lies in the relationship between pecorino cheese and cooking water. It must be 1:1, then the compound will be collected at a later date.
The doses for four people are as follows:
Spaghetti 350g
Black pepper grains to be ground at the moment q.b.
Pecorino Romano cheese for grating 220g
Salt up to q.b.

After grating the pecorino cheese, put the water for the pasta on the fire and salt to taste, then cook the spaghetti. In the meantime, grind the peppercorns. Pour half a serving of pepper into a fairly large non-stick pan (you'll need to sauté the pasta), then toast over low heat, stirring occasionally, and blend with a couple of ladles of pasta water. Drain the spaghetti very al dente, more or less when they have reached 2/3 of the cooking time, keeping the cooking water aside, then pour them into a pan with the toasted pepper, allowing the cooking to continue, moving the pasta with a fork or tongs. Add water as needed if the pan is almost dry. During the last few minutes of cooking spaghetti, prepare the cheese cream by pouring half a serving of grated Pecorino cheese into a bowl and adding a ladle of cooking water, stirring vigorously with a whisk. Add the remaining pecorino cheese, keeping a handful aside, and incorporate a little more water so as to obtain a cream that is not too dry and without lumps. Finish cooking the pasta and mix the cream by elevating the bowl over the pot, so as to heat it up slightly thanks to the steam. At this point, turn off the heat of the pan and pour the cheese cream over the spaghetti, then move them briskly with the tongs and add the handful of pecorino cheese kept aside, sautéing everything in the pan a little longer, then plate and serve.