Cacio e Pepe Risotto

Foundations Referenced

• → stocks

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups Arborio rice
• 1 shallot, brunoise
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 5 cups chicken stock (→ foundation), warm
• 2 cups finely grated Pecorino Romano
• 2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, toasted
• 3 tbsp cold butter

Method

1. Step: Toast pepper in a dry pan 1 min. Set aside.

2. Sauté: Sauté shallot in 1 tbsp butter 2 min. Add rice, toast 2 min.

3. Add: Add wine, stir until absorbed.

4. Add: Add warm stock one ladle at a time, stirring frequently. 18–20 min total.

5. Step: Off heat: fold in Pecorino, toasted pepper, and cold butter (mantecatura). Season.

What You're Practicing

• Same risotto technique as mushroom risotto, different flavor profile.
• Toasting the pepper blooms its volatile oils — more aroma, more complexity.
• The mantecatura (finishing with fat and cheese off heat) is what makes risotto creamy.