Tonnarelli cacio e pepe is a masterpiece of taste and simplicity. Tasty and creamy, it’s the perfect comfort food for those evenings in great company when nobody wants to get up from the table. And since we like it so much, why not steal a few secrets to prepare other exceptional dishes? One great idea for the creamy sauce with cacio e pepe are Tortellini Cacio e Pepe, which we’ll prepare using the same technique as the traditional recipe. But before giving you the recipe, let’s go over a few steps to prevent any errors.
Cooking the tortellini
We’re talking about a dish that relies entirely on being cooked perfectly and on the balance between stuffed pasta and sauce. In order to have the ingredients adhere better (and to have a few extra seconds to work with once they’re cooked), we have to drain the tortellini when they’re still al dente. So as a precaution, we’ll drain them one minute before the cooking time indicated on the package, and we’ll use a skimmer to keep them from falling apart in a colander. What’s more, since we’ll make our cacio e pepe creamy with the aid of the cooking water, try not to eliminate it entirely from the tortellini.
Cacio e pepe cream
The condiment for our tortellini should be prepared while tortellini are cooking; that way the cream won’t solidify. So first, we’ll finely grate our Pecorino Romano cheese and add plenty of freshly ground black pepper (or peppercorns chopped with a knife). Once we’ve set the tortellini to boil, just a few seconds before draining them, we’ll use the cooking water to turn the cheese into a cream.
Off the stove
To make sure the tortellini don’t cook any further and ensure that the cream doesn’t turn into a sticky mess, these last steps should not be carried out on the stove. The only thing that will be on the stove is the pot that was for boiling the water. Everything else will be prepared by mixing the ingredients off the heat.
A thousand ideas
We chose classic tortellini with prosciutto to prepare this recipe, but this sauce is also delicious with ravioli stuffed with pumpkin or potato, meat tortellini and classic ravioli with ricotta and spinach. It’s also very well suited with ravioli stuffed with other vegetables such as artichokes or asparagus.
Tortellini Cacio e Pepe Recipe
Ingredients (4 servings):
18 oz. tortellini with prosciutto
5 oz. young Pecorino Romano cheese
Salt
Black pepper
How To Prepare:
Grate the cheese and place it in a bowl, then grind plenty of black pepper on top. Set a pot of lightly salted water to boil (you should put about half the amount of salt in the water as you usually do, as the cheese is already very salty), then cook the tortellini. Add a few ladles of the cooking water to the bowl with the cheese and stir gently to obtain a cream. Drain the tortellini al dente, setting another ladle of cooking water aside. Add the tortellini to the bowl and stir well, adding as much of the hot water you set aside as necessary. Serve the tortellini piping hot and complete the dish with more freshly ground black pepper.