A perfect "cacio e pepe" creamy pasta sauce.
Posted on 09/21/2025 11:12:10 AM PDT by Eleutheria5
The Ig Nobel Prize honors research that first makes people laugh, then makes them think. Its 35th award ceremony possibly also makes people hungry: ISTA physicist Fabrizio Olmeda and colleagues researched the secret of a perfect cacio e pepe pasta sauce. They received the popular award for their findings on Thursday evening in Boston, U.S.
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(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
A perfect "cacio e pepe" creamy pasta sauce.
You have GOT to be kidding me.
smh
I once read that over the entrance to some observatory in France is the inscription that “He who discovers a new pasta sauce does more for humanity than anything which will be done here”.
I thought they liked Foie Gras and snails.
Leave the gun, take the cannoli.
The best sauces are today ‘rediscovered’ (i.e., ‘homemade’).
I refuse to enter an Italian restaurant for the purpose of consumption of mass quantities...UNLESS it is known for good meatballs, sausages and/or house baked breads.
I’m done with utterly pathetic experiences. If friends/family want Italian, they know who to approach.
One lone exception in my sphere: Crusco’s Ristorante in Angel’s Camp, CA.
https://cruscos.thaitomseattle.com/
It was highly recommended by family. Not bad - a huge compliment from me - but the prior proprietor/chef- Gil Lusher, now deceased, and his wife Celeste - did it better. But I’d put it on my compulsory long drive list when I’m in the area once again.
You should hear a coworker’s experience this week with a local $40 lasagna...which was literally layered with tomato paste. I warned him about that particular ‘Italian’ eatery...the same one which served my mother Alfredo sauce which was missing the cheese entirely. No joke.
You wouldn’t like the bland Italian food in Australia. There are a few exceptions, but not many that I have found. The basic recipe for Australian pasta sauce/ pizza sauce, and Mexican sauces too, BTW, seems to be flour, water, and food coloring.
I totally forgot about that episode. lol
Ironically, the ONLY decent calzone I’ve ever had was an Italian bistro near the campus here that closed over 30 years ago.
All others have been various iterations of ‘pizza pockets’.
The sauce that they served with it was pretty good, too (a HUGE compliment from me).
I’ve had one or two and made a few. They are pretty good but way to filling. I’ve become partial to thin crust and extra cheese.
This would have been discovered years ago, but the main researcher doesn’t work in the rain.
Hardly Italian, my latest creation is a breakfast 'calzone' with egg, cheese, and biscuit/gravy filling (light on the gravy filling; served on the side for dipping/topping).
Foodie Beard Exclusion Counter from Deniminator: -1.
Stir it fast with some of the hot starchy water it was boiled in?
How to get the creamy sauce (cremina)?
The beautiful creamy consistency of the sauce (called a cremina in Italian), is NOT achieved with cream, but by the combination of pecorino romano and the starchy pasta water. Letting the pasta finish cooking in the pan is also crucial. When the pasta is cooking in the pan, the pasta releases a lot of starch, contributing to the creaminess of the sauce.
Boil the pasta for half the amount of time that the package indicates (eg. if it says, 10 minutes on the package, boil it for 5 minutes). Add the pasta to the pan (it will finish cooking in the pan). Over medium heat, let the pasta finish cooking in the pan. Move it around with tongs, and by shaking the pan when it is cooking. Add pasta water as needed. The point is to get the starch to release into the pan. You want there to be a little bit of starchy liquid left in the pan. This is what helps form the cream.
While the pasta is cooking in the pan, add a small amount of pasta water to the grated pecorino. With a fork, mix the pasta water in until the mixture forms a paste. Set it aside When the pasta is al dente, remove the pasta from the heat. Wait 30 seconds, and add the pecorino mixture to the pan, and stir quickly with tongs. A beautiful creamy consistency should form between the pecorino and the starchy liquid in the pan. Plate, and spoon the creamy sauce on top. Add more fresh pepper if desired. Enjoy your cacio e pepe!
Thanks Liz - it’s one of those great dishes that’s almost all technique.
Thanks Liz - it’s one of those great dishes that’s almost all technique.
I agree. Sometimes I wonder how a totally counterintuitive technique could come into being...
Sometimes I wonder how a totally counter-intuitive cooking technique could come into being...
That’s what makes a great chef.......inventing techniques to make memorable dishes.
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