Spaghetti alla chitarra or tonnarelli with pecorino cheese and black pepper (Cacio e pepe) from An A-Z of Pasta: Stories, Shapes, Sauces, Recipes (page 286) by Rachel Roddy

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Notes about this recipe

  • veronicafrance on April 08, 2026

    Disclaimer: I’ve never made or even eaten cacio e pepe sauce before making this, so I was starting at a disadvantage. Rachel’s method here doesn’t use the pasta water, which seemed strange to me. Instead you make a paste of cold tap water and cheese and add the warm pasta to it, tossing to melt the paste. This didn’t work well for me … I think I didn’t use enough water, and the sauce didn’t gel. I ended up with a liquid phase and some stringy lumps of cheese. Yes, it tasted good, but it was at best lukewarm and there wasn’t enough sauce. Later I found an article by Rachel in which she advises setting aside a cupful of pasta water after 5 minutes’ boiling so that it has time to cool (it’s important that the water is not hot and the cheese is at room temperature). I’ll try this the next time I manage to find some pecorino. I’d also do the mixing in a warmed bowl.

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