“An affront!”: Brits change traditional pasta recipe – and outrage Italy

A modified version of Cacio e Pepe outrages Italy.

Simone Frau/American Institute of Physics/dpa

A BBC recipe for Cacio e Pepe is causing outrage in Italy: the British version of the traditional dish contains butter and Parmesan cheese – a culinary taboo for Roman restaurateurs.

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A BBC recipe for Cacio e Pepe contains butter and Parmesan cheese, which has been met with criticism in Rome.Roman restaurateurs emphasize that only pasta, pepper and pecorino belong in the original.The president of the gastronomy association invites King Charles III to Rome for a tasting.

An unusual dispute has broken out between Great Britain and Italy – and it’s all about pasta. As the Roman daily newspaper Il Messaggero reports, a recipe for Cacio e Pepe from the British broadcaster BBC is currently causing heated debate.

The reason: the list of ingredients includes butter and Parmesan – both of which have no place in the traditional preparation of the Roman classic.

“The original recipe contains neither Parmesan cheese nor butter,” Claudio Pica, President of the Roman gastronomy association Fiepet Confesercenti, told Il Messaggero. The authentic version consists exclusively of pasta, black pepper and pecorino cheese.

“An affront!”

The association had contacted both the BBC and the British embassy in Rome to demand a correction. Pica criticized the fact that the British version was presented as the original. Although the BBC has since replaced the Parmesan with Pecorino, another recipe from the broadcaster, which even recommends cream, is once again causing a stir.

An affront for Pica: “The BBC even recommends Cacio e Pepe with cream – an affront to all Roman restaurateurs!” He invited King Charles III to Rome to serve him a Cacio e Pepe “according to all the rules of art and tradition”.

Riccardo Aquilani, head chef at the traditional Pancrazio restaurant, also insisted on classic preparation. Artisan tonnarelli, freshly ground pepper and Pecorino Romano DOP from Lazio are important.