CACIO E PEPE PASTE

An Italian classic, this perky cheese-and-pepper white sauce is brilliant stirred through pasta for a quick and delicious supper.

Shop Cooks' Ingredients Cacio E Pepe Paste

TRY THE RECIPE:

Rich Cacio e Pepe Paste is the hero in Elly Curshen's creamy beans & greens on toast

Use it the Roman way, stirred through spaghetti with a splash of the pasta water to create a glossy sauce, then top with plenty of parmesan.
It’s a handy short cut to other pasta dishes, too. It’s brilliant teamed with fried mushrooms or crisp fried bacon – or both!
Spread inside toasties – a sautéed mushroom filling is especially tasty.
Fold through scrambled eggs to serve over sourdough.
Spoon onto nice, big portobello mushrooms, scatter with grated cheese, then pop in the oven to bake.
Use as the topping for a traybake of moussaka or lasagne.
Talking of which, it’s a great base for a white lasagne, made with mushrooms, spinach and puréed butternut squash in place of the usual tomato-based sauce.

Leftover chicken pie

Cacio e Pepe Paste is brilliantly versatile. Here, it forms the base of a white sauce for a chicken pie – a great way to use up your leftover roast. It can do the same job in a fish pie, too.

Sauté chopped bacon, leeks or onions and carrots in a knob of butter. When the veg is soft, add some chopped mushrooms, cook till browned, then stir through Cacio e Pepe Paste, loosened with a little crème fraîche, if needed. Add strips of leftover roast chicken and warm through.
Tip into a pie dish and top with shortcrust pastry, crimping the edges to seal and piercing a hole in the centre to allow steam to escape. Bake in a 180°C/gas 4 oven for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

When in Rome… eat cacio e pepe. There, a chef’s skills in mantecatura – the final vigorous stirring that emulsifies the olive oil, cheese and pasta water to create a smooth, creamy sauce – are highly prized. flavour.

CACIO E PEPE PASTE

This perky cheese-and-pepper white sauce is an Italian classic. Stir a jar through pasta for a quick and delicious supper.

Shop Cooks' Ingredients Cacio E Pepe Paste

TRY THE RECIPE:

Rich Cacio e Pepe Paste is the hero in Elly Curshen's creamy beans & greens on toast

WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE?

Milk, butter and olive oil make it rich and creamy, while the sharp, tangy flavour of Pecorino Romano cheese adds punch – as does the liberal addition of ground black pepper.

tips, tricks & hacks

Use it the Roman way. Mix 3-4 tbsp of pasta cooking water with a jar of Cacio e Pepe paste to create a glossy sauce to coat strands of spaghetti.
It’s a handy short cut to other pasta dishes, too. It’s brilliant teamed with fried mushrooms or crisp fried bacon – or both!
Spread inside toasties – a sautéed mushroom filling is especially tasty.
Fold a tablespoon through scrambled eggs to serve over sourdough.
Spoon onto nice, big portobello mushrooms, scatter with grated cheese, then pop in the oven to bake.
Use as the topping for a traybake of moussaka or lasagne.
Talking of which, a jar of Cacio e Pepe paste makes a great base for a white lasagne, made with mushrooms, spinach and puréed butternut squash in place of the usual tomato-based sauce.

EASY MEAL IDEA

Leftover chicken pie

Cacio e Pepe Paste is brilliantly versatile. Here, it forms the base of a white sauce for a chicken pie – a great way to use up your leftover roast. It can do the same job in a fish pie, too.

Sauté chopped bacon, leeks or onions and carrots in a knob of butter. When the veg is soft, add some chopped mushrooms, cook till browned, then stir through a jar of Cacio e Pepe Paste, loosened with a little chicken stock or leftover gravy, if needed. Add strips of leftover roast chicken and warm through.
Tip into a pie dish and top with shortcrust pastry, crimping the edges to seal and piercing a hole in the centre to allow steam to escape. Bake in a 180°C/gas 4 oven for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.