The Creamiest Cacio E Pepe Relies On One Easy Step

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When a dish relies solely on just a few ingredients, it's imperative that those ingredients are top-notch. Cacio e pepe, a classic Italian pasta dish with only three ingredients, is a prime example. Freshly cracked black pepper is necessary, as opposed to the pre-ground tins found in the supermarket, because the spicy, peppery notes only come through from the breaking and toasting of fresh, whole peppercorns. But the other ingredient, Pecorino Romano, is the traditional cheese used for cacio e pepe, and it's really the star of the show. But the salty, savory cheese must take a certain form to yield the perfect cacio e pepe. 

The Pecorino Romano absolutely must be freshly shredded, as pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that affect the texture and flavor of the cheese. For the cheese to melt into a silky, salty sauce, it must be grated as finely as possible. To achieve this, a microplane is the best tool for the job. The fine teeth of the long, thin grater are able to shave off tiny slivers of the aged sheep's milk cheese. When mixed with hot, starchy pasta water, the finely grated Pecorino Romano melts into a glossy sauce that perfectly coats the spaghetti. If the cheese was grated into thick slices or peeled into ribbons, however, it wouldn't disappear into the pasta water and would become thick chunks in the sauce. 

Not limited to just finely grating cheese, a microplane has a huge range of uses in the kitchen and is a tool that I personally use almost daily. It's a perfect shortcut to finely minced garlic to add to dips or salad dressing, and it grates knobs of peeled ginger with ease. A microplane is ideal for zesting the outsides of citrus, and even for grating fresh nutmeg into béchamel sauce, as well as for adding finishing touches on dishes, desserts, or even cocktails.

If you're feeling fancy, you could include an extra kind of cheese like Martha Stewart does, as long as that cheese is also finely grated. Some recipes will have you toast the black peppercorns before making the sauce, making sure they're as pungent as possible, which is necessary for a dish with so few ingredients. When you're ready to tackle one of Italy's famous dishes, use our classic cacio e pepe recipe, which uses a bit of butter in the sauce to help it emulsify, ensuring the sauce is less likely to break. Remember that once those gloriously fine shreds of Pecorino Romano have melted into a sauce, cacio e pepe must be served immediately to prevent the silky sauce from clumping and congealing.