Cacio e Pepe

The name "cacio e pepe" means "cheese and pepper" in Italian. The dish is typically made with spaghetti or tonnarelli, grated pecorino romano, and black pepper. The sauce should be creamy and smooth, but not too thick, and the cheese and pepper should coat the pasta without clumping together.

A brief history

Cacio e pepe has a rich history dating back to ancient Rome. It was a popular dish among shepherds, as the ingredients were cheap and easy to find in the countryside. According to legend, cacio e pepe was also a favorite of the Roman Empire's first emperor, Augustus.

To most, pepper is a seasoning. Something sprinkled liberally and often thoughtlessly. Travel back a few centuries, and pepper was so much more. It was treasured, a prime ingredient in its own right. Not just as an afterthought.

There was a steady flow of peppercorns travelling throughout the Roman Empire from Southern India. These established trade routes kept Italy at the heart of commerce. In the early 15th century, the spice merchants of Venice imported 75% of Europe’s culinary spices, more than half of which were peppercorns.

Round the mid-1600s, a shift started. It changed European cooking and saw richly-spiced food fall out of fashion. One explanation is down to economics: trade routes opened up, flooding Europe with spices. Supply outstripped demand and the price plummeted – meaning that spices no longer had an elusive and aspirational status.

The second is more subtle. French gastronomy began to establish itself as the pinnacle of culinary expression throughout Europe. Meat was at the heart of aspirational French cuisine and – instead of spices – butter, salt, meat stocks and gravies were all used to enhance and intensify that much-desired meat flavour. Spices fell out of favour altogether. In fact, pepper – ‘black gold’ which was once so prized it was used as currency – was now available to peasant farmers.

Around this time, a dish from the Roman Empire, Cacio e Pepe, is thought to have been revived by lowly shepherds in the Apennine Mountains. It’s a practical dish. Just three simple components: pasta, black peppercorns (both cheap and transportable dry ingredients) and cheese, made from ewe’s milk.

Ingredients

• spaghetti

• butter

• black peppercorns, ground, or 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

• pecorino or parmesan, finely grated

Method

• Cook the pasta for 2 mins less than pack instructions state, in salted boiling water. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium frying pan over a low heat, then add the ground black pepper and toast for a few minutes

• Drain the pasta, keeping 200ml of the pasta water. Tip the pasta and 100ml of the pasta water into the pan with the butter and pepper. Toss briefly, then scatter over the parmesan evenly, but don’t stir – wait for the cheese to melt for 30 seconds, then once melted, toss everything well, and stir together. This prevents the cheese from clumping or going stringy and makes a smooth, shiny sauce. Add a splash more pasta water if you need to, to loosen the sauce and coat the pasta. Serve immediately with a good grating of black pepper.