Padella's pici cacio e pepe
Cacio e pepe is an undeniably popular dish due to its simplicity and flavour - plenty of parmesan and pepper are key. Making your own pasta is simple and will transform a simple dish like this into something particularly special. You can cook the pici straight away or store them in the fridge wrapped in cling film for 1–2 days if you’d like time to get ahead.
Tim says: 'Originating from Tuscany, pici is as frugal as it gets and super-easy to make. You don’t need a pasta machine to roll the pici dough, which can be a fun communal activity, so I highly recommend getting others involved – the more the merrier.
I'm eternally grateful for this dish because it caused a lot of noise when we first opened Padella and was the main reason we had queues around the block. Quite simply, it put us on the map.
I'm fully aware it's different to the classic Roman recipe that uses pecorino Romano, pepper and water, which is totally delicious. And if I was opening Padella today, I would have called it 'Pici with butter, Parmesan and black pepper', because I didn't know it would upset some people. The truth is, in a restaurant in Panzano, I saw an Italian chef add butter to their cacio e pepe and when I asked her why, she said, 'because I'm not in Rome'.
The key to creating the smooth, oozy sauce is grating the Parmesan super-fine, and if you want to nail this recipe, I highly recommend you read my short explanation on melting Parmesan (on page 36 of Padella). Also, I toast the freshly cracked pepper in a dry pan to release the oils and make the flavour stronger - you want the pepper to tickle your nostrils when you eat the dish.
This sauce also works with: fresh tagliarini, fettuccine; dried linguine, spaghetti, bucatini, penne, rigatoni.'
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Pici dough
- 365g of strong white bread flour, plus about 200g for storing the pici
- 155g of tepid water
- 25ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 5g of salt
Sauce
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, heaped
- 110g of unsalted butter, cubed
- lemon juice, a squeeze (about 10ml)
- 110g of Parmesan, finely grated
- sea salt
Equipment
- Rolling pin
Method
Put all the pici dough ingredients into a large bowl and mix until a dough is formed. (Alternatively, you can put all the ingredients into a food processor and whiz until a dough forms.)
- 365g of strong white bread flour, plus about 200g for storing the pici
- 155g of tepid water
- 25ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 5g of salt
Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead by pushing, stretching and rolling for a few minutes until it’s smooth
Wrap the dough ball in cling film and leave to rest somewhere cool for at least 30 minutes, or keep in the fridge for up to 2 days
On a clean work surface (ideally stainless steel, marble or unvarnished wood), cut off one-fifth of the dough and use a rolling pin to flatten it into a rectangle, about 3mm thick. (Keep the remaining dough ball covered with a damp tea-towel or wrapped in cling film.)
Using a knife, cut the flattened dough into 3–5mm strips
Cut the strips of dough into roughly 10cm lengths
Use the heels of your hands to roll each piece of dough into a thin pici strand, 20–30cm long and roughly 5mm diameter. (They should resemble grissini or thin breadsticks.)
Transfer the pici to a heavily floured tray or a large plate. You can layer the pici on top of each other but make sure you heavily flour them as you layer, to prevent them sticking to each other
For the pici, in a large cooking pot, bring 4-5 litres water to the boil and add a fistful of salt (see page 31 of Padella)
At the same time, in a pan large enough to easily hold all of the cooked ingredients, toast the freshly cracked pepper over a high heat for roughly 45-60 seconds or until you can smell the pepper, shaking the pan regularly to prevent it burning. Immediately add around 200ml of the seasoned pasta water (it will sizzle) and take the pan off the heat for 30 seconds
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, heaped
Put the pan back over a medium-low heat, add the butter with the lemon juice to melt gently, then take off the heat. (It's important to keep it off the heat while you cook the pasta, so that the pan isn't scorching hot when you add the Parmesan.)
- 110g of unsalted butter, cubed
- lemon juice, a squeeze (about 10ml)
Loosen the pici bundles through your fingers so they won't stick together as they cook. Drop the pici into the boiling water and cook for around 5 minutes
Drain the pici as soon as it's ready, keeping two mugs of pasta water
Transfer the cooked pici to the buttery pepper sauce, put the pan back over a medium heat and stir until fully coated. Don't worry if it looks quite soupy at this stage; the sauce will thicken more quickly than you think
Add the grated Parmesan to the pici and stir vigorously to melt it into the sauce. You should see a bit of steam rising out of the pan as you stir, so adjust your heat up if this isn't happening. You might need to add small splashes of the reserved pasta water if the sauce needs loosening, stirring until you achieve a smooth, oozy sauce
- 110g of Parmesan, finely grated
Once you're happy with the consistency of the sauce, serve up the pasta on hot plates. Eat straight away
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