Stop Overthinking CACIO E PEPE | A Foolproof and Totally Traditional Recipe
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- Опубліковано 3 чер 2024
- Cacio e pepe (literally "cheese and pepper") is one of the simplest pasta dishes out there, yet one of the trickiest to master. Many cooks struggle to create a creamy sauce without thick clumps of stringy cheese, and much of the culinary internet space has devoted itself to finding "foolproof" methods for preparing it.
Many of these methods technically work, but they also tend to radically change the nature of the dish and/or overcomplicate this humble pasta. In this video, we hope to clear up some confusion and present a technique that is both foolproof, traditional and incredibly yummy at the same time.
It's time to end the Cacio e Pepe madness!
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FOOLPROOF & TRADITIONAL CACIO E PEPE RECIPE - www.pastagrammar.com/post/how...
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00:00 - What is Cacio e Pepe?
01:09 - The "Problem" with Cacio e Pepe
01:57 - What Makes Italian Cacio e Pepe Different?
04:22 - The Right Pasta for Cacio e Pepe
05:37 - What Everyone Gets Wrong About Cacio e Pepe
09:12 - Eva's Foolproof Cacio e Pepe Method
09:54 - The Best Cheese for Cacio e Pepe
10:55 - How to Grate Cheese for Cacio e Pepe
11:48 - Toasting Pepper for Cacio e Pepe
13:07 - Which Pasta to Use for Cacio e Pepe
13:36 - How to Cook the Pepper Sauce for Cacio e Pepe
15:16 - Cacio e Pepe Trick: Let the Pasta Cool Down!
16:02 - How to Add Cheese Without Clumping
18:46 - Harper Makes Cacio e Pepe
21:56 - Eva Tries Harper's First Cacio e Pepe
23:27 - Let's Put the Cacio e Pepe Obsession to Bed
24:03 - Pasta Grammarian in Action!
#cacioepepe #recipe #foolproof
Have you ever tried to make Cacio e Pepe? How did it go?
I didn't have a problem making it but I didn't think it was a life changing as everyone said it was going to be. I'll try again with a better cheese on Eva's advice.
it sometimes comes out a bit runny/watery and I’m trying to drain off extra liquid instead of it all absorbing
È uno dei piatti più semplice al mondo, ma è anche uno dei piatti che difficilmente riesce come deve. Nella maggior parte dei casi il formaggio diventa grumi e non fa la classica cremina. Per quanto riguarda la scelta del Pecorino, questo si può fare in Italia, ma all’estero come nel mio caso (io vivo qui in Germania) è già una grande cosa se io trovo UN tipo di pecorino, non ho scelta tra vari tipi di pecorino.
I've made it several time but I have to say I am not a big fan. Its simple and quick but not my first choice for a pasta dish. I will have to try it again while I am in Italy to see if the better cheese makes a difference.
@@LarryStrawson If you eat a "Cacio e Pepe" (one of the four most famous Roman dishes) in Rome done right, you will see that it can become one of your favorite Italian dishes. It is one of the most delicious Italian dishes! Unfortunately, the problem (and I say this as an Italian) is that this dish is sometimes "hated" because it doesn't come out the way it's supposed to come out. And so when a dish doesn't come out as it should, people try to "hate" it. When the dish is ruined, it's not that you really "fall in love" with that dish. It is one of the simplest dishes in the world, but as usual, simple dishes are often the most difficult to make well.
Its crazy how a pasta dish with 3 ingredients could be the most difficult italian recipe ever
I imported my Pecorino Romano straight from Italy, it was shipped ‘Overnight’ in a refrigerated package, and the pasta I used was spaghetti from la Molisana, and it still made a ball, Vincenzo! lol
! (:
Well, by following your method, it's not difficult at all Vincenzo. The key is follow those who know what they are doing.
I use your recipe Enzo. I actually live on many of your recipes! Respect from Western Australia. Grazie
It isn't.
Another “secret” tip I discovered (and that I’ve never seen mentioned anywhere online) is that the foamy part of the pasta water contains the most flour/starch. Always when you boil anything, the “impurities” (in this case, just the starch) rises to the top and gets collected in the bubbles. So if you grab pasta water with as much foam as you can, the starch in it will help with the emulsification.
I’ve even added a little corn starch to the pasta water if I’m making a small batch and not enough starch in the water. Worked great.
true!
Yeah, I always try to get the really starchy part of the pasta water too! Lol.
I tried grinding up broken pieces of pasta with a coffee grinder (the cheap blade kind) to a powder, then adding them to the water before I put the pasta in. I don't know if it did anything, though.
@@nhf7170you could just achieve the same with a spoon full of flour and save yourself a lot of effort
People don't realize that the starch from the pasta is the binder and that is why you don't need xanthem gum or cornstarch.
Yes they realize, but many nowadays pasta is too "good" and do not give the starch out enough. Thats one reason people are now after the "trafilata al bronzo" pasta, as it has the "whiteish skin" which gives easily the starch out. And thats the reason in this video was talked about fresh pasta.
@@OKuusava Jepp fresh pasta releases a lot of starch...
But cornstarch is super easy to use. Why not use cornstarch?
@@ThirdLawPair Because it's bland and tasteless and doesn't add anything to a dish except for chalkiness.
@@ThirdLawPair you need a liquifier, this can be hot fat or hot water... and the cheapest option simply is to use the pasta water which has both, starch and hot liquid...
This young woman is so full of ancient Italian wisdom. I love this channel.
Yesss, Harper is the best ❤
@@michaelwu7678🤣
I know it's not the point of the video, but I have to say it: Eva's hair is divine!
I would also mention to use freshly grated cheese. Using cheese that's been shredded and refrigerated will also create clumping problems.
Came to comments to say this. Vote up! Pre-shredded cheese tends to be unrecognizable and contains anti-clumpsing agents.
Pre shredded cheese is often coated in potato starch to keep the shreds separated
I also think that pre-hredded cheese isn't usually as finely grated for what you need. Eva mentions this in the video. Use a microplane to get the right fineness.
@@MyFocusVariesand/or cellulose.
As a general rule, I always say read the labels, and if there’s something on there that wasn’t in a jar in your grandmother’s kitchen (xanthan gum? cellulose? come on), you don’t want it on your plate.
Because everyone here mentions the store bought pre shredded cheese: This also goes for the good quality cheese that you buy and then shred to keep in a jar in the fridge for the next few pasta dishes (consider that most Italians will eat on avarage almost every day a pasta dish so the pre shredded cheese is going to be used up in a few days). I wouldn't use it for caccio e peppe because without the additives used in the store boughts ones it will clump a bit in cold and slightly humid 'climate' of the fridge. So it looses the cloud like consistency that you want for it to easily melt.
Note she used a (comparatively) small amount of water. The reason is that you want the starch from the pasta water as the emulsifying agent. So if you cook the pasta it in less water, you get more starch in each ladle.
I was also going to make a comment about less water = more starch. It is how I "foolproof" these kinds of sauces. You beat me to it. 😊
There is a reason that they reuse the pasta water at Alfredo alla Scrofa. They get a lot of starch in the pasta water!
@@astridrg Learned this from Alex, ua-cam.com/video/q8kTWNwUD88/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Alex
People use more water than that..? That seems so unnecessarily wasteful (water and heating) 😅
@MaztheMeh16 So in my case I was taught how to make pasta by an Italian who told me to use lots of water, this gives the pasta room to boil and be stirred without sticking together. But over time I began overcompensating and trying to hard to use lots of water. So even though I was taught by an Italian I eventually needed a second course correction.
I tried to make cacio e Pepe just once. I used a cast iron skillet that stayed hot. Let’s just say I ate something else that night.
Lol..
I think "clumpsy" is an excellent description of my cacio e pepe!!!!
(:
Just for giggles made this today (first time having Cacio e Pepe), following the instruction exactly and was extremely amazed just how transformed by how simple this disj really is and how elevated the taste was. For anyone that would think that "wow, that's a lot of pepper", by heating the pepper and infusing the sauce this way, just give the entire bite a unique flavor. For those that worry that the pasta will cool too much, the pepper takes care of that. The cheese melted perfectly and made such a creamy sauce. Aglio e Olio used to be my quick go-to, but changed with this dish. Thanks.
Brava!!! I have been making Cadio e Pepe for years. The grandkids know it as Italian Mac & Cheese. I am happy to say I make it exactly the same way as Eva. My wife loves it. NO olive oil, Xantham gum, corn starch - OY. And yes using the proper grater and cheese is very important. Well done guys.
Exactly. "Pecorino" in Italy is a tricky word because it covers a broad spectrum of very different sheep cheeses.
This was very important to learn. I had no idea.
Not tricky at all, as we know there is at least 300 diff pecorinos, but the one you are after is simply "pecorino romano"
Exactly. Here in Italy every single region has several types of Pecorino, which for us are often referred to a city. Plus there are different Pecorino cheese based on ageing and or amount of salt.
Pecora=sheep, pecorino=cheese made with sheep milk. => hundreds of not thousands of pecorino cheeses!
I tried Pecorino Toscano. It wasn't the same.
@@thereccher8746 I wouldn't use pecorino toscano (which is a broad term just like "pecorino" as there area tons of pecorino cheese in Tuscany) for cacio e pepe, unless maybe very well aged. Pecorino techno is usually meant to be eaten raw, or with honey / onion jam and such. Long life to pecorino!!
Te meriti la cittadinanza onoraria de Roma co 'sta cacio e pepe! Tanti non sanno che dopo averla "ripassata" in padella con il pepe deve riposare sennò, se ci metti il pecorino quando è troppo calda... fila come 'na sottiletta! Diversamente, si può preparare prima il condimento con il pepe ed il pecorino e l'acqua di cottura, poi si butta la pasta nella padella e si "manteca" a fuoco spento.
Technique is the hardest ingredient in a recipe like this. Most people don't have the patience for proper techniques.
You're so right, at least in my case. I don't enjoy standing in the kitchen stirring something for 3 minutes. Staying and doing nothing is torture.
Always said I'm better at growing the food than cooking the food.
Get a beverage, set the table... 3 minutes filled. 😂❤
I've also had the clumping issue and, surprise surprise, I was adding all the cheese to the super hot pasta, thinking it needed to be super hot to melt the cheese... 🤦 I will be giving this method a try. Thanks so much Eva and Harper!
Me: hmmm...maybe it's not hot enough...
Hehehe! I know, right??
But I have seen Italian chefs specially in carbonara that like the clump so to each its own
It's the same thing if you're making a cheese sauce with cheddar, you have to turn the heat completely off when you add cheddar to the sauce or else it really will split
I had been trying the cheese paste method from Vincenzo, never worked for me lol. This method looks like it will work perfectly.
Edit: right after I posted this, I saw Harper mention that method 😅
after learning about italian food, i realize a lot of pasta dish is basically just left over dishes.... you just go to see what you have in the pantry and the fridge and cook it with pasta...
Finalmente qualcuno che ha capito,! Quando mi faccio la pasta, ne faccio un pò di più e quella che avanza la scaldo la sera
That's more or less the origin of many of the best dishes in worldwide poor cuisine, of which Italy is undoubtedly one. Old time mothers and grandmas had to be creative with the little they had access to.
Exactly. All you need is good, fresh ingredients and a good tecnique.
Totally makes sense without any gimmicks. Thanks for this.
Cacio E Pepe has become my daughter favourite dish, she love how simple it is and tasty. The way we have been getting rid of the clumps. has been putting the cheese into a bowl and as the pasta cooks, I add a small amount of pasta water at time and mix it well and at the end slowly adding into the pasta mixing and tossing. Works pretty well
Another trick I learned to get more starch out of dried pasta is to boil the pasta in much less water than you normally would. Although it takes a bit more attention while boiling, using less water concentrates the starch for the sauce.
I do this too! Thought it was my own brilliant invention 😂
There’s a restaurant in NYC called Cacio e Pepe and they make the dish table side in a big wheel of pecorino. I visited there many years ago ; it’s still there.
Eva, you're so honest and smart. Never change!
One of the greatest videos I have seen on Cacio e Pepe is by "Alex". It might be a bit too overcomplicated too, but at least it uses the actual traditional ingredients and Alex has an amazing channel!
These three different dishes have one thing in common: the right heat to get an emulsion of X and cheesy pasta water to keep the cheese from clumping:
- cacio e pepe (cheese, and pasta water)
- fettuccine al burro (butter, cheese, and pasta water)
- spaghetti alla carbonara (guanciale fat, egg yolk, cheese, and pasta water)
Eva is great with showing the technique and I love that all three just take patience, even if the ingredients (in the US) may not want to cooperate all the time. Thank you both!
I have both cheeses from Costco! I make sure it has the red medallion showing it's from Italy. We may do this tonight for dinner! Thank you! Sounds delicious! Harper, you did great! Hopefully I can do the same! 😅
If you end up making it I'd love to know how it goes!
I love these 'reaction' type videos... It's good to see a critique of other peoples' styles (which are all valid in their own way)... and it gives a great context for the recipe or technique...
Apart from the likes of James Makinson who just seems to do reaction vlogs... what a load of C***!!!It should be banned
Your wrap-up was spot-on: this IS the only Cacio e Pepe recipe you will need. And for Harper to do so well with his first try just shows that Eva is as good a teacher as she is an Italian cook. You explained everything so well and answered all of the "why's?" in your viewers' minds, that you left us all with the confidence that we could do it, too. And Harper then proved it. Thanks!
Cacio e Pepe is my go to. It’s quick, easy and delicious, and the best part is the ingredients are always staples in my house!
For those who are in Toronto, avoid the Tre Stelle brand of pecorino. To quote Eva, it is basically “a block of salt.” A pecorino from Whole Foods 100% worth the investment, given this recipe is only 2 ingredients.
Whole Foods has Pecorino Romano by Fulvi, which one person has recommended, though Whole Foods might have other brands. Are there other brands of Pecorino Romano you prefer?
So many videos I've seen concerning cacio e pepe and this one is the easiest and the least stressful.
now just make it? ;-)
@@OKuusava I just might.😋
You remain one of my favourite food content providers. Entertaining warm and easy to understand and follow.
“It’s Harper proof!” Lol. Great video!
This method works! I've made it 3 times now and it was bang on each time after many failures through the years trying other methods. No gimmicks, no oil or extra starchy water, no premade cheesy sauce..... Just follow Eva. Perfect every time. Thank you for this video.
Bravo, Harper! No surprise that Eva hit it out of the park.
we want you to do "what I eat in a day" video and how you stay so slim with all that pasta around!
its a myth that pasta makes you fat. The key is to eat it always with some vegetable in. You might notice that most pasta dishes are pasta e broccoli, pasta e zucchine ect. thats how we stay slim ;)
@@baldini75Also, unlike in America, we Italians are not addicted to "super-sizing" everything! One "American-size" serving of paste would be enough to feed three Italians!
Eva is very candid here...made me chuckle @06:31 explaining it's a common food/poor students makes that they do not use/own a "blender" to make this dish, let alone *NO FAT* is used as well. XANTHAN GUM...oh my lol 😊
Harper, "So it's fool proof?" Eva, "Si, for sure is Harper proof." 🤣🤣🤣What a great job Eva, not only did you debunk the network hype, you proved that anyone can make cacio e pepe. Yes, even Harper! 🤣🤣🤣The obsession with cacio e pepe falls into the category of obsession over mac and cheese... simple foods don't need special ingredients or methods. Great video! ❤
Thank you. I like to make a non-Italian dish where I put spaghetti with olive oil and lemon juice and lemon pepper spice in there with cheese and always get the clumping. I add smoked salmon chunks on top. I can use this method for my dish! It should also work to keep the clumping away.
Look up lemon pasta on UA-cam, there's a few vincenzos plate recipes for lemon sauces that you might enjoy. In Italy there's several varieties of lemons grown in the summer, and they make amazing lemony sauces around the time fresh artichokes are available. You'll probably love other lemon sauces too if you enjoy the ingredients in them. ❤
Like the longer hair Harper. But sometimes hard to recognize you. Keep up the good work. I love you and your wife. So creative you two are.
Harper is rocking the long hair!
North America messed up ossobuco, too - it used to be the cheapest cut on the shelf.
As for cacio e pepe, my dad (Fiorentino) insists that mixing the pepper with ground cheese ahead of time makes a difference. But as you are probably aware, there are as many variations in Italian recipes as there are streets in Italy.
Literally, the best episode evah! Something that should be simple turns out to be... simple. Good quality ingredients and the knowledge to use them correctly.😉
More of Harper cooking in the future episodes! 🙏🙏🙏
You can find Spaghetti alla chitarra (which is another name for Tonarelli) at Whole Foods or Eataly (or online). It has a square cross section and kind of a rough surface that releases a ton of starch into the pasta water. It's also very forgiving when it comes to cooking time. Actually, unless you like your pasta crunchy, you have to be patient. It's pricey but worth it.
I can vouch for the difficulty of making fileja/maccaruna - during last Fall's pasta grammar tour Eva had a pasta making class and when we were well into attempting to roll the maccaruna and failing, she blithely announced "....oh, this is one of the most difficult pastas to make" and everyone just looked at her...but, we persevered....sort of...
I just made my first Cacio e Pepe! The Cheese started clumping and sticking together, added alittle more pasta water seemed to help.
TASTES WONDERFUL!!!
Thank you for the wonderful recipe!!
Bravissima Eva: hai tirato fuori un altro italianissimo "uovo di Colombo".
For the record Babish is NOT my favorite internet chef. No way. I like your channel, and also Brian Lagerstrom's. Straight forward and reliable.
i will check out lagerstrom. and i can't stand babish. eva and harper's recipes are stellar. especially the paste di mandorla. i highly HIGHLY recommend it!
Babish's understudy who does all the pop culture dishes is better... Babish himself tends to butcher things.
Unfortunate to have see trash talking for different content creators under under ppl’s videos. Ppl can’t all succeed, they can only succeed if someone has to “lose” and be insulted
Luckily I’m already subbed here but if I wasn’t it would be such a turn off cuz I had fan bases like this
Chef. John.
At this point the only channels I trust are Eva and Harper, Vincenzo, Helen Rennie, French Cooking Academy and, as always, Chef John.
The best cacio e pepe I made was when I bought a wheel of pecorino sardo, it was sooo good. I loved it so much and my Egyptian friends went crazy over it, I had to do another round.
This is the way!
Quick mention, stir until the cheese has melted before doing another round. Pan flips work even better. That’s what makes the emulsion that makes the sauce ‘creamy’
Thank you for this video. People overthink it too much!
That was helpful, thank you!
YES! this is exactly what i needed! Thank you both
Eva enjoying Harper's pasta brought a smile to my face.
Love this! thanks!
I love the simplicity. Thank you!
Thank you both so much!
Can't wait to try it.
yum! Thanks for a great recipe.
What a great episode! Thanks for simplifying a simple dish.
Great episode!
That’s brilliant, great job
Can’t wait to try this!
My Italian father in law who lived by himself would often cook himself some home made pasta, add pecorino or parmigiano bought from the best delicatessens (which is to say authentic Italian). He would cook the pasta, add butter, salt and loads of cheese. Done and dusted, easy peasy. Tasty as anything. I make it to this day.
That's pasta burro e parmigiano, aka the original Alfredo, aka the pasta fussy children have at school canteens (and everywhere else)!
Very helpful video, thank you guys:))
Thanks for leaving all the science out of the process.
As usual a great tutorial on a simple pasta dish.
How have you guys not hit 1 million subs yet!? It's gonna happen, and I'ma be here for it!
This channel was a such a gem thank you! I will try it tonight. 😅
I love your passion and your wanting and needing to teach us the absolute correct way to make each dish. Thank you. 😍🥰😘
Ooohh!!!! A MUST make !!! This is The ONE !!!!
i'm not italian but i'm a big fun of this dish, because it's simple and spicy. i experienced a lot with it, and found, that a little grana makes the sauce more smooth, and adding different peppers (my favorite additions are rose-pepper, sechuan pepper and green pepper) makes the dish more interesting. the technique i use is the same for any combinations: toast the peppercorns first, after that grind in a mortar. every other day i filter out the larger pieces but i like the bigger pepper parts as well. meanwhile i boil the water, add the salt (up to taste) and the pasta. cook until almost ready, after that boil the pasta with the grinded pepper together (and with some pastta water). if the pasta is ready, i turn off the heat, and wait some (1-2) minutes (if i added grana, i wait more), after that add the grinded cheese to the pasta, and stir like a machine. the sauce will be silky and homogeneous.
Great work figuring all this out. Bravo!! 👏🏼
Spectacular, excellent, brilliant, my standing ovation for both of you...
I cant wait to make it now~ ty for making it so much simpler than any other video on here.. Love your videos~
Is Eva a natural ginger?! She looks gorgeous!! 😍😍 So much better than the pitch-black, punk-rock style I've seen in previous videos!
Thank you for this, I’m making it tonight.
It looks wonderful. I’m going to try this tonight with my homemade pasta.
Love you two ❤ I'm making this during the week
Bravo. I will be trying your cacio e pepe soon.
This video made me happy. Well done.
Dewr editor: Muting "siri" in the finished audio... chef's kiss. So few think about it. Tip of the hat to you
I will have to retry this dish. A simplification such as this video presents definitely makes more sense. Thank you!
great episode, Guys! thanks!
Thank you Eva! 😊
Thank you for making this simpler than everyone else. Time to try!
Grazie mille Eva! We are really looking forward to making this! You are the BEST! 🫶🏼
Kraig & Sue ♥️
That was just wonderful for someone like me. Thanks for the tips.
Thanks so much for the compliments! You guys are awesome! Keep up the amazing videos!
You both did a wonderful job! I will try this in the near future.
This video is a gem, bless your heart Harper and Eva
Can’t wait to try this❤
Awesome!!!! It is easy with your technique and patience, patience, and love! Ciao!
Great video. Probably the best I've watched on Cacio e Pepe, and as you say there are a few out there... Really simple but highlighting some crucial helpful points. Subscribed.
Thank you! ❤❤❤❤
Simple and pure ingredients and a love for pasta. Thanks for the authentic technique of this dish.
I love that I met you guys on the streets of Rome. You two are wonderful! Thanks for being so sweet!
Bravo!!!
@Pasta Grammar - Eva, thank you for clearing up this dish for us new cooks out here, I know now that Heat was my down fall when making this dish before. Thanks for all the great content.
Great video!! Can't wait to try this out
I used the recipe from todays show and it was wonderful!