Cacio e pepe, literally “cheese and pepper” in Italian, is officially a culinary phenomenon. The simple Roman pasta dish made with pecorino Romano (an Italian sheep’s cheese) and coarsely ground black pepper has become a famous flavor profile that you can apply to a multitude of other meals. Traditionally served with bucatini or other pastas, pecorino and black pepper have made the leap to garlic bread, gnocchi, risotto, and even staples like scrambled eggs.
Now, the classic combination has made its way to the realm of vegetables, namely broccoli. Broccoli has a few famous friends: garlic, tahini, lemon, and, especially, cheddar cheese. Swapping brightly colored but mild cheddar cheese for the more pungent and tangy pecorino will turn so-so broccoli into a dazzling showstopper. Just add black pepper to balance the sharpness of the cheese. The salty pecorino and earthy, spicy black pepper will level up your side dish without adding any unpalatable heat.
While this one-two punch of ingredients couldn’t be simpler, there are a few factors to keep in mind. First, while you can swap the pecorino for Parmesan (which is made from cow’s milk rather than sheep’s), you’ll lose out on much of the funky flavor. This is also the time to bust out that pepper grinder for top-tier freshly cracked pepper.
A few delicious methods for making cacio e pepe broccoli
There’s more than one way to give broccoli the cacio e pepe treatment. The first version is perfect for those who prefer their broccoli lightly charred and minimally seasoned. Start by prepping your broccoli to roast as usual, then drizzle the florets with a little olive oil and roast until they’re almost ready. Next, use a microplane or the smallest holes of a box grater to give your sheet-pan broccoli a serious sprinkle of pecorino. No need to be too precise here — spare shards of cheese can be toasted and scraped up back into the dish. Next, you’ll want to add about a teaspoon and a half of coarsely ground black pepper for every ounce of cheese. Before roasting again until the cheese is crisp, add a sprinkling of salt. Pecorino is salty, but not so salty that it will overwhelm your broccoli.
Another delicious method involves creating a cheese sauce. Build a basic white sauce with butter, a little flour, and milk before blooming two teaspoons of cracked black pepper for a few minutes. Then, slowly whisk in about a cup of pecorino until fully incorporated. Taste your cheese sauce and adjust it with salt or extra pepper, as needed. This mixture can be drizzled right over the roasted broccoli. Or, for a cozier casserole treatment, mix parboiled broccoli with your cacio e pepe sauce in a baking dish and top it with breadcrumbs. Just 15 minutes in the oven will result in a luxurious side dish.
