My first post here was in regard to my failed Cacio e Pepe.
This is my third attempt. A lot better than my last one, heck, the cheese did not coagulate this time around. Thanks for the input everybody and all the resources to tackle this dish. I cooked the pasta for 10 mins. At the 10 min mark, i scooped out a half cup of starchy water. I proceed to turn off the burner. Strain the pasta for exactly one minute. After one minute, i toss it in with the cheese and mix, adding pasta water as i mix!
170-180g Rigatoni
60g of Cheese
1 tsp of pepper
by Main-Daikon9246
5 Comments
Looks pretty good! Nice job
Question. Are you using freshly ground pepper?
Practice makes perfect. You are there!
This dish infuriates me. Every time I’ve made carbonara it has come out perfect but every time I make this the cheese clumps even after turning off the heat and everything. This past time I got so angry I went down a rabbit hole of self hatred I just don’t understand it
Cacio e Pepe is the one classic pasta I do extremely well so here are a few pointer. You have to use fresh pasta (crucial for the starch and creaminess. I prefer bucatini), freshly grated cheese (not pre-grated, but a block and grate yourself immediately before use), and fresh cracked black pepper. Boil the pasta but use the minimum amount of water needed to submerge the pasta. In a separate cast iron pan, crack in the pepper and let it toast for about a minute. When the pasta is halfway cooked (should only be about 1:30-2 mins) scoop out and place in cast iron and add a few ladles of water and start mixing. Separately in a bowl, have your cheese ready, and pour a ladle of pasta water in and mix to make a slurry. Keep adding water to the pan and it will continue to cook the pasta. When it’s getting close to fully cooked, add the cheese mixture and use tongs to mix around. When the pasta is al dente, cheese and water forms a cream, add more fresh pepper and serve.
The difference will blow your mind.