I came across this dish – Cacio e Pepe – online for the very first time on Friday, 16 May 2025. Here is that recipe in full: https://www.seriouseats.com/spaghetti-cacio-e-pepe-recipe by J. Kenji López-Alt

Cacio e Pepe is a classic Roman pasta dish made with just three simple ingredients: pasta, Pecorino Romano cheese, and black pepper. Its name literally means “cheese and pepper,” and despite its simplicity, it delivers bold, comforting flavour through a creamy, peppery cheese sauce created by combining grated cheese with hot starchy pasta water.

And as soon as I read it, I wanted to make it too! Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a vegetarian version of Pecorino Romano cheese, as the ones available at my grocers had animal rennet 🙁 So, I made it with a standard Vintage Cheese and hoped to pull it off! My apologies to all the Italian food lovers.

METHOD

1. Heat a saucepan with olive oil and ground pepper.
2. As soon as it gets fragrant, leave it aside.
3. In another saucepan/pot, add water, salt, spaghetti and bring to a boil.
4. Don’t put too much water, as you want the starch to get concentrated.
5. Cook this for about 10 minutes and leave it aside. Don’t throw away the water.
6. Bring back the Olive Oil mixture to the flame, and add butter.
7. Add a few tablespoons of the pasta water, and mix well.
8. Add the spaghetti to the above, and toss it around well in the oil-pepper-starch water mixture.
9. Add the grated cheese, and mix very well.
10. Add the remaining water, mix well, and continue to cook.
11. Once you get a sauce-like consistency from the oil-pepper-starch water mixture, stop the cooking.
12. Serve!

It was superb! Loved every bit. It has a salty, cheesy taste to it.

I made a mixed vegetable dish to accompany the Cacio e Pepe, although traditionally, I believe it’s meant to be enjoyed on its own — just the cheese and pasta, nothing else.

Sorry, I had some corn chips to go with it also 🙂