Have you ever tried to make Cacio e Pepe? How did it go?

@rumbleinthekitchen_Amy

Ай бұрын

I didn't have a problem making it but I didn't think it was a life changing as everyone said it was going to be. I'll try again with a better cheese on Eva's advice.

@killianmmmoore

Ай бұрын

⁠it sometimes comes out a bit runny/watery and I’m trying to drain off extra liquid instead of it all absorbing

@aris1956

Ай бұрын

È uno dei piatti più semplice al mondo, ma è anche uno dei piatti che difficilmente riesce come deve. Nella maggior parte dei casi il formaggio diventa grumi e non fa la classica cremina. Per quanto riguarda la scelta del Pecorino, questo si può fare in Italia, ma all’estero come nel mio caso (io vivo qui in Germania) è già una grande cosa se io trovo UN tipo di pecorino, non ho scelta tra vari tipi di pecorino.

@LarryStrawson

Ай бұрын

I've made it several time but I have to say I am not a big fan. Its simple and quick but not my first choice for a pasta dish. I will have to try it again while I am in Italy to see if the better cheese makes a difference.

@aris1956

Ай бұрын

@@LarryStrawson If you eat a "Cacio e Pepe" (one of the four most famous Roman dishes) in Rome done right, you will see that it can become one of your favorite Italian dishes. It is one of the most delicious Italian dishes! Unfortunately, the problem (and I say this as an Italian) is that this dish is sometimes "hated" because it doesn't come out the way it's supposed to come out. And so when a dish doesn't come out as it should, people try to "hate" it. When the dish is ruined, it's not that you really "fall in love" with that dish. It is one of the simplest dishes in the world, but as usual, simple dishes are often the most difficult to make well.

Its crazy how a pasta dish with 3 ingredients could be the most difficult italian recipe ever

@user-ko2cu6th3e

Ай бұрын

I imported my Pecorino Romano straight from Italy, it was shipped ‘Overnight’ in a refrigerated package, and the pasta I used was spaghetti from la Molisana, and it still made a ball, Vincenzo! lol

@maylinde986

Ай бұрын

! (:

@nandkuj

Ай бұрын

Well, by following your method, it's not difficult at all Vincenzo. The key is follow those who know what they are doing.

@trevorcook3129

Ай бұрын

I use your recipe Enzo. I actually live on many of your recipes! Respect from Western Australia. Grazie

@hansemannluchter643

Ай бұрын

It isn't.

Another “secret” tip I discovered (and that I’ve never seen mentioned anywhere online) is that the foamy part of the pasta water contains the most flour/starch. Always when you boil anything, the “impurities” (in this case, just the starch) rises to the top and gets collected in the bubbles. So if you grab pasta water with as much foam as you can, the starch in it will help with the emulsification.

@javaskull88

Ай бұрын

I’ve even added a little corn starch to the pasta water if I’m making a small batch and not enough starch in the water. Worked great.

@johndoe6651

Ай бұрын

true!

@MrsBungle78

Ай бұрын

Yeah, I always try to get the really starchy part of the pasta water too! Lol.

@nhf7170

Ай бұрын

I tried grinding up broken pieces of pasta with a coffee grinder (the cheap blade kind) to a powder, then adding them to the water before I put the pasta in. I don't know if it did anything, though.

@FizzyCape

29 күн бұрын

@@nhf7170you could just achieve the same with a spoon full of flour and save yourself a lot of effort

People don't realize that the starch from the pasta is the binder and that is why you don't need xanthem gum or cornstarch.

@OKuusava

Ай бұрын

Yes they realize, but many nowadays pasta is too "good" and do not give the starch out enough. Thats one reason people are now after the "trafilata al bronzo" pasta, as it has the "whiteish skin" which gives easily the starch out. And thats the reason in this video was talked about fresh pasta.

@werpu12

Ай бұрын

@@OKuusava Jepp fresh pasta releases a lot of starch...

@ThirdLawPair

29 күн бұрын

But cornstarch is super easy to use. Why not use cornstarch?

@DanWhyte

29 күн бұрын

@@ThirdLawPair Because it's bland and tasteless and doesn't add anything to a dish except for chalkiness.

@werpu12

29 күн бұрын

@@ThirdLawPair you need a liquifier, this can be hot fat or hot water... and the cheapest option simply is to use the pasta water which has both, starch and hot liquid...

This young woman is so full of ancient Italian wisdom. I love this channel.

@michaelwu7678

11 күн бұрын

Yesss, Harper is the best ❤

@Critter145

10 күн бұрын

@@michaelwu7678🤣

Note she used a (comparatively) small amount of water. The reason is that you want the starch from the pasta water as the emulsifying agent. So if you cook the pasta it in less water, you get more starch in each ladle.

@astridrg

Ай бұрын

I was also going to make a comment about less water = more starch. It is how I "foolproof" these kinds of sauces. You beat me to it. 😊

@FredrikGranlundkayaker

Ай бұрын

There is a reason that they reuse the pasta water at Alfredo alla Scrofa. They get a lot of starch in the pasta water!

@shaimach

Ай бұрын

@@astridrg Learned this from Alex, kzread.info/dash/bejne/o2yftrmHp7iqaJs.html&ab_channel=Alex

@MazTheMeh16

Ай бұрын

People use more water than that..? That seems so unnecessarily wasteful (water and heating) 😅

@ifyouloveChristyouwillobeyhim

Ай бұрын

@MaztheMeh16 So in my case I was taught how to make pasta by an Italian who told me to use lots of water, this gives the pasta room to boil and be stirred without sticking together. But over time I began overcompensating and trying to hard to use lots of water. So even though I was taught by an Italian I eventually needed a second course correction.

I would also mention to use freshly grated cheese. Using cheese that's been shredded and refrigerated will also create clumping problems.

@scotstafford

Ай бұрын

Came to comments to say this. Vote up! Pre-shredded cheese tends to be unrecognizable and contains anti-clumpsing agents.

@MyFocusVaries

Ай бұрын

Pre shredded cheese is often coated in potato starch to keep the shreds separated

@michaelp62

Ай бұрын

I also think that pre-hredded cheese isn't usually as finely grated for what you need. Eva mentions this in the video. Use a microplane to get the right fineness.

@jpp7783

Ай бұрын

@@MyFocusVariesand/or cellulose. As a general rule, I always say read the labels, and if there’s something on there that wasn’t in a jar in your grandmother’s kitchen (xanthan gum? cellulose? come on), you don’t want it on your plate.

@leighreynolds2605

14 күн бұрын

Because everyone here mentions the store bought pre shredded cheese: This also goes for the good quality cheese that you buy and then shred to keep in a jar in the fridge for the next few pasta dishes (consider that most Italians will eat on avarage almost every day a pasta dish so the pre shredded cheese is going to be used up in a few days). I wouldn't use it for caccio e peppe because without the additives used in the store boughts ones it will clump a bit in cold and slightly humid 'climate' of the fridge. So it looses the cloud like consistency that you want for it to easily melt.

Brava!!! I have been making Cadio e Pepe for years. The grandkids know it as Italian Mac & Cheese. I am happy to say I make it exactly the same way as Eva. My wife loves it. NO olive oil, Xantham gum, corn starch - OY. And yes using the proper grater and cheese is very important. Well done guys.

I know it's not the point of the video, but I have to say it: Eva's hair is divine!

Just for giggles made this today (first time having Cacio e Pepe), following the instruction exactly and was extremely amazed just how transformed by how simple this disj really is and how elevated the taste was. For anyone that would think that "wow, that's a lot of pepper", by heating the pepper and infusing the sauce this way, just give the entire bite a unique flavor. For those that worry that the pasta will cool too much, the pepper takes care of that. The cheese melted perfectly and made such a creamy sauce. Aglio e Olio used to be my quick go-to, but changed with this dish. Thanks.

I've also had the clumping issue and, surprise surprise, I was adding all the cheese to the super hot pasta, thinking it needed to be super hot to melt the cheese... 🤦 I will be giving this method a try. Thanks so much Eva and Harper!

@lizhutchinson6978

Ай бұрын

Me: hmmm...maybe it's not hot enough...

@paulawiid2148

Ай бұрын

Hehehe! I know, right??

@luissolares7007

Ай бұрын

But I have seen Italian chefs specially in carbonara that like the clump so to each its own

@aeolia80

Ай бұрын

It's the same thing if you're making a cheese sauce with cheddar, you have to turn the heat completely off when you add cheddar to the sauce or else it really will split

@AdamFloro

Ай бұрын

I had been trying the cheese paste method from Vincenzo, never worked for me lol. This method looks like it will work perfectly. Edit: right after I posted this, I saw Harper mention that method 😅

I think "clumpsy" is an excellent description of my cacio e pepe!!!!

@maylinde986

Ай бұрын

(:

I tried to make cacio e Pepe just once. I used a cast iron skillet that stayed hot. Let’s just say I ate something else that night.

@imthesweetgirl

Ай бұрын

@marykoufalis7666

Ай бұрын

Lol..

Exactly. "Pecorino" in Italy is a tricky word because it covers a broad spectrum of very different sheep cheeses.

@jpp7783

Ай бұрын

This was very important to learn. I had no idea.

@OKuusava

Ай бұрын

Not tricky at all, as we know there is at least 300 diff pecorinos, but the one you are after is simply "pecorino romano"

@pavek

Ай бұрын

Exactly. Here in Italy every single region has several types of Pecorino, which for us are often referred to a city. Plus there are different Pecorino cheese based on ageing and or amount of salt. Pecora=sheep, pecorino=cheese made with sheep milk. => hundreds of not thousands of pecorino cheeses!

@thereccher8746

29 күн бұрын

I tried Pecorino Toscano. It wasn't the same.

@pavek

29 күн бұрын

@@thereccher8746 I wouldn't use pecorino toscano (which is a broad term just like "pecorino" as there area tons of pecorino cheese in Tuscany) for cacio e pepe, unless maybe very well aged. Pecorino techno is usually meant to be eaten raw, or with honey / onion jam and such. Long life to pecorino!!

Eva, you're so honest and smart. Never change!

Cacio E Pepe has become my daughter favourite dish, she love how simple it is and tasty. The way we have been getting rid of the clumps. has been putting the cheese into a bowl and as the pasta cooks, I add a small amount of pasta water at time and mix it well and at the end slowly adding into the pasta mixing and tossing. Works pretty well

Totally makes sense without any gimmicks. Thanks for this.

Te meriti la cittadinanza onoraria de Roma co 'sta cacio e pepe! Tanti non sanno che dopo averla "ripassata" in padella con il pepe deve riposare sennò, se ci metti il pecorino quando è troppo calda... fila come 'na sottiletta! Diversamente, si può preparare prima il condimento con il pepe ed il pecorino e l'acqua di cottura, poi si butta la pasta nella padella e si "manteca" a fuoco spento.

These three different dishes have one thing in common: the right heat to get an emulsion of X and cheesy pasta water to keep the cheese from clumping: - cacio e pepe (cheese, and pasta water) - fettuccine al burro (butter, cheese, and pasta water) - spaghetti alla carbonara (guanciale fat, egg yolk, cheese, and pasta water) Eva is great with showing the technique and I love that all three just take patience, even if the ingredients (in the US) may not want to cooperate all the time. Thank you both!

Your wrap-up was spot-on: this IS the only Cacio e Pepe recipe you will need. And for Harper to do so well with his first try just shows that Eva is as good a teacher as she is an Italian cook. You explained everything so well and answered all of the "why's?" in your viewers' minds, that you left us all with the confidence that we could do it, too. And Harper then proved it. Thanks!

Another trick I learned to get more starch out of dried pasta is to boil the pasta in much less water than you normally would. Although it takes a bit more attention while boiling, using less water concentrates the starch for the sauce.

@superNowornever

25 күн бұрын

I do this too! Thought it was my own brilliant invention 😂

One of the greatest videos I have seen on Cacio e Pepe is by "Alex". It might be a bit too overcomplicated too, but at least it uses the actual traditional ingredients and Alex has an amazing channel!

Technique is the hardest ingredient in a recipe like this. Most people don't have the patience for proper techniques.

@SeasonedCitizen

Ай бұрын

You're so right, at least in my case. I don't enjoy standing in the kitchen stirring something for 3 minutes. Staying and doing nothing is torture. Always said I'm better at growing the food than cooking the food.

@carrieullrich5059

Ай бұрын

Get a beverage, set the table... 3 minutes filled. 😂❤

after learning about italian food, i realize a lot of pasta dish is basically just left over dishes.... you just go to see what you have in the pantry and the fridge and cook it with pasta...

@marcobiagioli3905

Ай бұрын

Finalmente qualcuno che ha capito,! Quando mi faccio la pasta, ne faccio un pò di più e quella che avanza la scaldo la sera

@Tarrasque73

Ай бұрын

That's more or less the origin of many of the best dishes in worldwide poor cuisine, of which Italy is undoubtedly one. Old time mothers and grandmas had to be creative with the little they had access to.

@ssanti66

Ай бұрын

Exactly. All you need is good, fresh ingredients and a good tecnique.

You remain one of my favourite food content providers. Entertaining warm and easy to understand and follow.

I love these 'reaction' type videos... It's good to see a critique of other peoples' styles (which are all valid in their own way)... and it gives a great context for the recipe or technique...

@olly7673

Ай бұрын

Apart from the likes of James Makinson who just seems to do reaction vlogs... what a load of C***!!!It should be banned

This method works! I've made it 3 times now and it was bang on each time after many failures through the years trying other methods. No gimmicks, no oil or extra starchy water, no premade cheesy sauce..... Just follow Eva. Perfect every time. Thank you for this video.

There’s a restaurant in NYC called Cacio e Pepe and they make the dish table side in a big wheel of pecorino. I visited there many years ago ; it’s still there.

Cacio e Pepe is my go to. It’s quick, easy and delicious, and the best part is the ingredients are always staples in my house!

I have both cheeses from Costco! I make sure it has the red medallion showing it's from Italy. We may do this tonight for dinner! Thank you! Sounds delicious! Harper, you did great! Hopefully I can do the same! 😅

@SK3564

Ай бұрын

If you end up making it I'd love to know how it goes!

“It’s Harper proof!” Lol. Great video!

For those who are in Toronto, avoid the Tre Stelle brand of pecorino. To quote Eva, it is basically “a block of salt.” A pecorino from Whole Foods 100% worth the investment, given this recipe is only 2 ingredients.

@borbetomagus

Ай бұрын

Whole Foods has Pecorino Romano by Fulvi, which one person has recommended, though Whole Foods might have other brands. Are there other brands of Pecorino Romano you prefer?

Literally, the best episode evah! Something that should be simple turns out to be... simple. Good quality ingredients and the knowledge to use them correctly.😉

Spectacular, excellent, brilliant, my standing ovation for both of you...

I just made my first Cacio e Pepe! The Cheese started clumping and sticking together, added alittle more pasta water seemed to help. TASTES WONDERFUL!!! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!!

I love the simplicity. Thank you!

I love it! The best episode of the best channel. ❤

Bravo, Harper! No surprise that Eva hit it out of the park.

Harper, "So it's fool proof?" Eva, "Si, for sure is Harper proof." 🤣🤣🤣What a great job Eva, not only did you debunk the network hype, you proved that anyone can make cacio e pepe. Yes, even Harper! 🤣🤣🤣The obsession with cacio e pepe falls into the category of obsession over mac and cheese... simple foods don't need special ingredients or methods. Great video! ❤

Thank you. I like to make a non-Italian dish where I put spaghetti with olive oil and lemon juice and lemon pepper spice in there with cheese and always get the clumping. I add smoked salmon chunks on top. I can use this method for my dish! It should also work to keep the clumping away.

@carrieullrich5059

Ай бұрын

Look up lemon pasta on KZread, there's a few vincenzos plate recipes for lemon sauces that you might enjoy. In Italy there's several varieties of lemons grown in the summer, and they make amazing lemony sauces around the time fresh artichokes are available. You'll probably love other lemon sauces too if you enjoy the ingredients in them. ❤

Thank you both so much!

You both are so wonderful! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your recipes, knowledge of Italian dishes and charming humor. It has brought me bowls of JOY!

Ive never ever made or tried that dish before. It looks delicious and will make it, thank you Eva grazie mille x

So many videos I've seen concerning cacio e pepe and this one is the easiest and the least stressful.

@OKuusava

Ай бұрын

now just make it? ;-)

@wulfenii64

Ай бұрын

@@OKuusava I just might.😋

You can find Spaghetti alla chitarra (which is another name for Tonarelli) at Whole Foods or Eataly (or online). It has a square cross section and kind of a rough surface that releases a ton of starch into the pasta water. It's also very forgiving when it comes to cooking time. Actually, unless you like your pasta crunchy, you have to be patient. It's pricey but worth it.

YES! this is exactly what i needed! Thank you both

I made this for the first time this afternoon. Supposed to be just dinner for 3, then it became 5, and then ended up dinner for 7!! Hell, I only had 12oz package of pasta! I through together some asparagus, made a salad and little cannoli "cups" for desert!! Turned out good with great raves from my guests. I did learn somethin though.... the pepper didn't scale up well. I ground up 24 grams of pepper and used about 2/3 of it and I thought the pepper came through on the heavy side. One other thing. I salted the pasta water about like what was shown in the video and thought the pasta tasted way to salty! Maybe I just used too much water in making the dish, I don't know. I'll try it again one day!!

I will have to retry this dish. A simplification such as this video presents definitely makes more sense. Thank you!

I love your passion and your wanting and needing to teach us the absolute correct way to make each dish. Thank you. 😍🥰😘

Thank you for this video. People overthink it too much!

Y'all are both beautiful souls for helping me understand REAL Italian cuisine.

Bravo 💜. Such a simple pasta to make. Thank you Eva and Harper. I’ll be making this soon. I love this channel.

Great video!! Can't wait to try this out

Grazie mille Eva! We are really looking forward to making this! You are the BEST! 🫶🏼 Kraig & Sue ♥️

I cant wait to make it now~ ty for making it so much simpler than any other video on here.. Love your videos~

Great work figuring all this out. Bravo!! 👏🏼

What a great episode! Thanks for simplifying a simple dish.

we want you to do "what I eat in a day" video and how you stay so slim with all that pasta around!

@baldini75

Ай бұрын

its a myth that pasta makes you fat. The key is to eat it always with some vegetable in. You might notice that most pasta dishes are pasta e broccoli, pasta e zucchine ect. thats how we stay slim ;)

@luigiporpora8322

7 күн бұрын

​​@@baldini75Also, unlike in America, we Italians are not addicted to "super-sizing" everything! One "American-size" serving of paste would be enough to feed three Italians!

I love that I met you guys on the streets of Rome. You two are wonderful! Thanks for being so sweet!

Great video. Probably the best I've watched on Cacio e Pepe, and as you say there are a few out there... Really simple but highlighting some crucial helpful points. Subscribed.

Awesome!!!! It is easy with your technique and patience, patience, and love! Ciao!

Simple and pure ingredients and a love for pasta. Thanks for the authentic technique of this dish.

Like the longer hair Harper. But sometimes hard to recognize you. Keep up the good work. I love you and your wife. So creative you two are.

@edwardkantowicz4707

Ай бұрын

Harper is rocking the long hair!

I had the clumpsyness problem too but made it like you showed with peccorino and parmigiano and it was VERY delicious!!!! Thank you!

brilliant ... well done both of you

I have seen and tried a lot of the recipes on YT for cacio & pepe, but you are the FIRST to address the temperature issue. I think it is the most important key for a good dish. And the mix with the two cheeses is a good tip 🙂

Thank you for making this simpler than everyone else. Time to try!

Love you two ❤ I'm making this during the week

Eva is very candid here...made me chuckle @06:31 explaining it's a common food/poor students makes that they do not use/own a "blender" to make this dish, let alone *NO FAT* is used as well. XANTHAN GUM...oh my lol 😊

For the record Babish is NOT my favorite internet chef. No way. I like your channel, and also Brian Lagerstrom's. Straight forward and reliable.

@metislamestiza3708

Ай бұрын

i will check out lagerstrom. and i can't stand babish. eva and harper's recipes are stellar. especially the paste di mandorla. i highly HIGHLY recommend it!

@chdreturns

Ай бұрын

Babish's understudy who does all the pop culture dishes is better... Babish himself tends to butcher things.

@BelBelle468

Ай бұрын

Unfortunate to have see trash talking for different content creators under under ppl’s videos. Ppl can’t all succeed, they can only succeed if someone has to “lose” and be insulted Luckily I’m already subbed here but if I wasn’t it would be such a turn off cuz I had fan bases like this

@sarzootashoota351

Ай бұрын

Chef. John.

@JackFate76

Ай бұрын

At this point the only channels I trust are Eva and Harper, Vincenzo, Helen Rennie, French Cooking Academy and, as always, Chef John.

Such a simple wonderful recipe. It’s in our rotation of quick dinners.

This channel was a such a gem thank you! I will try it tonight. 😅

Thanks so much for the compliments! You guys are awesome! Keep up the amazing videos!

You both did a wonderful job! I will try this in the near future.

How have you guys not hit 1 million subs yet!? It's gonna happen, and I'ma be here for it!

Bravissima Eva: hai tirato fuori un altro italianissimo "uovo di Colombo".

Eva enjoying Harper's pasta brought a smile to my face.

More of Harper cooking in the future episodes! 🙏🙏🙏

I must say I had such a fun time with this episode. It was almost therapeutic hearing her win very easily and very politely while watching those popular videos. This is definitely the exact way to make this and I feel the video now completes my understanding of the dish. Her reaction and comment after trying Harper's pasta is awesome.

This video made me happy. Well done.

This video is a gem, bless your heart Harper and Eva

That’s brilliant, great job

great episode, Guys! thanks!

That's why I love the way Italy cooks. Easy recipes simpel to do but fantastic taste......😋

I am using a lot of your videos to teach my kid basic techniques of pasta. So many amazing dishes are so damn simple! Basics! Quality ingredients. PASTA WATER, grating your own cheese. The little things that are seldom taught anymore. Bravo~! Love yall

Thank you for this episode. All the 'cooks' are 'experimenting' as you say. Thank Goodness I have my old cookbooks!

Thanks for leaving all the science out of the process.

It looks wonderful. I’m going to try this tonight with my homemade pasta.

As usual a great tutorial on a simple pasta dish.

Currently eating the plate of cacio e pepe I just made following this and it's the best I've ever made! Thanks so much for this tutorial, great tips ☺️

Brilliant!! My son is getting ready to head off to college, so I’m teaching him simple recipes to make. He’s made cacio e Pepe before, but we’re going to try this version tomorrow. Simple ingredients cooked well usually gives the best results.

That was just wonderful for someone like me. Thanks for the tips.

I haven’t seen you guys pop up on my KZread in maybe a year and I’m happy to be reminded of your channel, and I just wanted to say your hair looks really good at this length Harper

Well I made this for a friend tonight… Thank you guys… it came out perfectly!!!😋

Love this! thanks!

Brilliantly presented. Excellent! And very important to point out some of the unnecessary over-complicated methods on UT 👏

Ooohh!!!! A MUST make !!! This is The ONE !!!!

North America messed up ossobuco, too - it used to be the cheapest cut on the shelf. As for cacio e pepe, my dad (Fiorentino) insists that mixing the pepper with ground cheese ahead of time makes a difference. But as you are probably aware, there are as many variations in Italian recipes as there are streets in Italy.

LOVE your shows

Very helpful video, thank you guys:))