Easy One Pan Cacio e Pepe Rigatoni
A foolproof recipe for cacio e pepe rigatoni that uses a blend of pecorino romano and parmesan cheeses. And did I mention you only need one skillet? ONE SKILLET!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper (pre ground will also work)
- 8 ounces rigatoni (or other boxed pasta shape)
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt (use half as much if using another brand of salt)
- 1 ounce parmesan cheese (approx ½ cup, finely grated)
- 1 ounce pecorino romano cheese (approx ½ cup, finely grated)
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium heat. As soon as butter is fully melted, add pepper. It will fizzle and bubble slightly. Stir until quite fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.
- Add pasta and the salt. Then add the water. You may need slightly less or slightly more than 3 cups of water, depending on the size of your skillet — just enough to barely cover the pasta. It's okay if bits of pasta are poking above the water, as long as most it is covered.
- Crank the heat to high. As soon as the water starts boiling, set a timer for the "al dente" cooking time on the pasta box. Stir frequently to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the skillet. The water will bubble vigorously and there will be lots of steam as the water absorbs into the pasta and evaporates simultaneously. Just keep stirring. You can add small amounts of water if needed, but try to resist — trust the process.
- When there's about 1 minute left on your timer, taste test a noodle. If it's al dente — just a slight bit of bite to it — remove the pan from the heat and begin adding the cheese a few handfuls at a time. Stir constantly to keep the pasta and cheese from clumping on the bottom of the pan. If the noodles aren't done, cook for another minute or so stirring constantly before moving on to the cheese.
- The cheese will look clumpy and stringy at first, but keep stirring and it will melt into a glossy, shiny sauce that clings and evenly coats the noodles.
- Serve immediately, topped with more freshly cracked pepper and cheese.
RECIPE NOTES
- If the cheese is really clumping up or getting stringy, you can return the pan to low heat and add small amounts of water as you stir to help smooth it out. If you accidentally add too much water at this stage, add more cheese to thicken it again.
- You must use pecorino romano and parmesan cheese for this one pot cacio e pepe cooking method. The two cheeses melt very differently (parmesan melts quickly, pecorino does not). If you try to use just one of the two cheeses I can't make any promises for how successfully this will turn out.
- I make no promises for how this will work if you use pre-grated cheeses. They often have starches and anti-coagulants added to prevent clumping that are totally safe to eat but that can affect the way they melt.