Three ingredients, three centuries of tradition
Cacio e pepe is an eternal reference to Rome: pasta, Pecorino, pepper. No cream, no butter, no tricks. Only an emulsion of starchy water and cheese, worked at the right moment.
Traditionally it was the food of the shepherds who moved up into the mountains with little baggage that would keep: pasta secca, Pecorino, peppercorns. What is a gourmet dish today was once simple provisions of the transhumance around the Apennines.