Whether you’re searching for what to eat while traveling or looking for an idea for an international dish to try making at home, there’s a source you should turn to: one of the most famous food and travel experts of the 21st century, Anthony Bourdain.
Over the course of multiple successful television shows that showcased culinary traditions around the world, the late chef guided viewers through dishes he tasted across all seven continents. Bourdain didn’t recommend every delicacy he tried along the way — he declared fermented shark in Iceland “the single worst thing I’ve ever put in my mouth” — but he also highlighted an endless array of delicious foods that should be on anyone’s itinerary.
The chef’s favorite sandwich from Bar do Mané in Brazil left such a lasting impression on him that Bourdain published his own rendition of the recipe in a cookbook. So if you can’t get to São Paulo anytime soon, you can at least make it at home.
One other dish had such an outsized impact on the Kitchen Confidential author that any Bourdain fan should know about it. In a 2011 episode of his show The Layover, the chef said that if you only have a few hours in Rome, you should skip the Vatican and grab a specific meal instead: cacio e pepe.
Where did Anthony Bourdain try his favorite cacio e pepe?
The moment Anthony Bourdain first tried a true Roman cacio e pepe was captured on camera. While visiting Rome for the first time — to film season 6, episode 20 of No Reservations — the chef sampled the city’s famous pasta at an undisclosed restaurant. His reaction was visceral and immediate, prompting Bourdain to declare, “I’m sure this is illegal somewhere,” and later to call the dish the “greatest thing in the history of the world.”
Although he didn’t share the restaurant’s name in the episode, fans have since confirmed that Bourdain dined at Roma Sparita, a family-owned spot in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood. Fortunately for anyone with travel plans to Italy, Roma Sparita is still open today, and cacio e pepe is on its menu.
This unassuming restaurant sticks to a classic version of the dish, spotlighting just pasta, pepper, and Pecorino Romano. But one detail sets it apart: a crispy bowl, crafted from that same signature cheese, holds the freshly cooked pasta.
How to make better cacio e pepe at home
While trying cacio e pepe at a restaurant in Rome is an experience that’s hard to replace, you can make this simple pasta dish at home. Unlike many Americanized pastas, it doesn’t rely on heavy cream to develop a rich sauce. The ingredient list for cacio e pepe is short, and there are a few choices you can make to help you get closer to crafting something an Italian chef would approve of.
Most importantly, the cheese and pepper you use in cacio e pepe matter. Opt for Pecorino Romano, a salty sheep’s milk cheese that’s a little creamier and brighter in flavor than Parmigiano Reggiano. You should also use freshly ground black pepper, which will have a stronger aroma and more potent flavor than anything pre-ground. Make sure you only cook your pasta until al dente, because the noodles are the star of the show and you want them to have a pleasant bite rather than becoming gummy and mushy.
There are a few other tricks you can employ to produce a glossy, non-clumpy sauce. Many chefs recommend cooking the pasta in slightly less water than usual, yielding a higher concentration of starch in the cooking water that makes it easier to emulsify later. Letting the pasta water cool slightly before tossing it with the cheese is also a common suggestion; this prevents the Pecorino Romano from immediately turning into a melty, stringy mess.
Follow a few recipes to nail the technique, and you’ll be making cacio e pepe without any guidance in no time.
Dining and Cooking