The Extra Cheese Martha Stewart Includes In Her Cacio E Pepe

If you've never had the famous pasta dish cacio e pepe, which Anthony Bourdain called '"the greatest in the history of the world," you may be wondering what all the fuss is about and why it's so popular. The magic of the dish comes from transforming grated cheese and black pepper into a piquant, creamy sauce that silkily coats the noodles using nothing more than starchy pasta cooking water. Translated from Italian to loosely mean "cheese and pepper," it may just be the wonderful simplicity that makes the ancient Roman pasta so spectacular.  

Depending on the linguistics, the word cacio usually refers to the hard, salty aged cheese made from sheep's milk known as Pecorino Romano, as the Italian word more commonly used for cheese in general is formaggio. The type of cheese cacio e pepe always uses isn't world-famous Parmigiano Reggiano, but rather pecorino romano, and a good quality one at that.

In addition to the traditional Pecorino Romano, culinary powerhouse Martha Stewart revealed on Instagram that she also uses Grana Padano cheese in her cacio e pepe. Not only is Stewart a fan of Grana Padano, but it's also the cheese that Lidia Bastianich swears by for pasta. Thankfully, Grana Padano is generally a more affordable alternative to other imported Italian cheeses.

If you've never had the pleasure of eating Grana Padano, it's one of many delicious Italian cheeses you need to try at least once. While similar to Parmigiano Reggiano in that it's an aged, raw cow's milk cheese from Italy, Grana Padano is required to be aged for less time, and Italy actually produces more Grana Padano than it does Parmigiano Reggiano. Martha Stewart's use of Grana Padano in her cacio e pepe recipe is a nice tweak that won't stray too far from the original taste of the dish. While commonly made with spaghetti, you can experiment by making cacio e pepe with any pasta shape you like. Similar to spaghetti but with a bit more texture due to the hole running through the strands like a straw, try our bucatini cacio e pepe pasta recipe.

As she has earned the right to do, Stewart adds her own flair to her cacio e pepe with the extra cheese as well as two more ingredients not commonly found in the Roman dish. Straying from traditional recipes, Stewart adds both butter and lemon juice to her cacio e pepe recipe for a silky smooth and pleasantly tart pasta. The addition of butter adds an element of richness to the pasta, while a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of lemon zest at the end bring acidity and brightness to the dish.