There are moments at a meal when the stars align. While you’re sitting at a table at a hot new restaurant and thinking about what you’re going to eat, your food makes its way across the dining room to the table next to you, drawing everyone’s attention. I ate the menu and said, “Oh, I’ll eat what they’re eating!” That’s what happened to me the first time I encountered the famous Cacio e Pepe lasagna on Calle Carota.
Rita Sodi and Jody Williams’ Italian in New York City’s West Village This restaurant opened in 2014 and quickly became popular. Ten years later, it remains as popular thanks to its big charm, elegantly simple pasta dishes, extensive list of vegetable contorni and, of course, some famous patrons.
Derived from Chef Cacio e Pepe Tonnarelli, Cacio e Pepe Lasagna consists of 21 layers of pasta sandwiched between a creamy white sauce with lots of Pecorino Romano and just the right amount of pepper. It was a wonderful slab. Paired with a bottle of Super Tuscan, it made a great late lunch. This lunch will be a memory you’ll never forget. I’m pretty sure I licked the plate. Unfortunately, as of this article’s publication, lasagna is no longer on the menu.
However, the recipe can be found in Sodhi and Williams’ 2022 Via Carota cookbook. Befitting this restaurant’s legendary status, this is a lasagna that requires time and attention. It’s the kind of dish you’d make for a special birthday dinner or a marriage proposal to prove how much you love someone. Yes, it’s delicious, but it takes 4-6 hours to complete.
First, you’ll need half a pound of Pecorino Romano zest to make your cheese stock (Sodi says she simmers her cheese stock for 6 hours). If you ask your local cheese shop for this, be prepared to be laughed at. You may be able to get a few ounces of Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, but the chances of finding half a pound are very high. As for the Pecorino Romano rind, I was told by two cheese slingers that such a thing doesn’t exist.
If you happen to get half a pound of peel, you’ll need to boil it for an hour and scoop it out. Once that’s done, mix the stock and milk to make a white sauce, make homemade pasta sheets, boil them a few at a time and lay them flat on a towel (hope they don’t stick). To assemble lasagna, you’ll need 10 layers of pasta, sauce, and plenty of cheese. In addition, it must be left for 30 minutes to 2 hours before baking. Ideally, you should leave it out after baking so it doesn’t fall apart after you cut it into squares. However, it probably won’t have the all-over browned look you see in the cookbook photos. That requires blasting the individual slices in a very hot convection oven, which, as you can imagine, takes even more time.If you feel like getting engaged after it’s all said and done, it’s really teeth Love.
But I love this lasagna so much that I want to make it more often. So I set about making the recipe a little easier without sacrificing too much flavor.
For my simplified version, I decided to omit the stock for the cheese rind. Yes, Parmesan cheese rind soup is a heavenly, freshly squeezed juice that you should definitely make sometime, but certainly not every day. Instead, I made a simple, thin béchamel from whole milk and low-sodium chicken broth, adding garlic and bay leaves for depth of flavor. I then added freshly grated nutmeg (fresh nutmeg makes a big difference in flavor) and a tablespoon of nutmeg. Coarsely ground black pepper. At first glance, it may seem like there’s a lot of pepper in it. However, because it is coarsely ground, it takes up more space in the measuring spoon, and the starches and dairy products in the dish also reduce the heat a little. If you skimp, you’ll regret it. We also recommend splurging on gourmet peppers like La Plantation’s Cambodian Kampot peppers. It has a resinous, fruity bite that if you’re a pepper lover like me, you’ll fall in love with it. I will never go back to Tellicherry.
Pecorino Romano is an aged cheese made from 100% sheep’s milk that originated in the Lazio region around Rome. There are some domestically produced ones, but many are salty or have a gamey smell. That’s why I used his Locatelli brand of imported goods. Aged for at least nine months, this rich, nutty cheese is a favorite of mine, good enough to eat on a cheeseboard, and tangy enough to withstand the spiciness of black pepper. Luckily, it’s easy to find in supermarkets and cheese stores. I grate mine on a microplane so it blends smoothly into the sauce, but if you’re really in a hurry, Locatelli’s also comes pre-grated in a tub.
As for pasta, Via Carota’s homemade egg-free semolina pasta sheets are handkerchief-thin and perfect, but I’ve had great results using fresh raw pasta sheets from my local pasta maker. Ta. There is no need to boil the pasta sheets. It cooks perfectly well in a sauce in a baking dish (sorry Lydia, this is a tried and true thing). I left the lasagna covered while baking to retain the moisture that steams and cooks the pasta sheets while baking. Bake uncovered for the last 15 minutes (I used the convection setting) and it created a beautiful crispy texture on the top. That said, searing is also an option (see notes at the end of the recipe).
Once the lasagna is finished baking, let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes to make it easier to cut and serve in neatly stacked squares. That’s exactly the time it took me to eat a fluffy green salad dressed with a wonderful vinaigrette, which is featured in the Via Carota book. I felt a little triumphant that I had crammed so much healthy into such a decadent meal.
And what about lasagna? Was it the same as the glorious 21-tier Via Carota Lasagna I remember? Not exactly. But it was a truly delicious creamy, cheesy, black peppery starch bomb that was ready in just over an hour. Paired with a bottle of Antonio Sanguineti Nessun Dolma Super Tuscan wine, that’s really all I could ask for. Oh, and unlike our restaurant experience, we were able to enjoy leftovers this time.
Cacio e pepe lasagna recipe
Serves 4-6 people
material:
5 tablespoons butter
1 medium garlic clove (peeled and cut in half lengthwise)
1 bay leaf
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken soup
Divide 5 to 6 ounces of grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 2.5 cups freshly grated).
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 fresh lasagna sheet in a 16 oz package
Instructions:
step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Step 2: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat and add the garlic and bay leaf. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add the milk and stock and cook, stirring frequently, especially on the sides of the pot where the thick sauce will stick, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. The sauce will be thinner than most white sauces and more like half and half than thick cream. Remove the pot from the heat and discard the bay leaf and garlic. Stir 1/4 cup of cheese with black pepper, nutmeg, and salt. Taste and add seasoning if needed.
Step 3: Spoon a thin layer of sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with about 1/4 cup cheese. Place the pasta in a single layer in the pot and cut it so that it fits snugly but does not overlap. Sprinkle with a few pieces of four-finger cheese and cover with a few ladles of sauce. Add more pasta, cheese, and sauce. Repeat until all ingredients are used, finishing with sauce and a final layer of cheese. Spray the foil with cooking spray and cover the lasagna.
Step 4: Place the baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbly. Uncover the lasagna and bake for about 15 minutes, until bubbly (with convection if available) and golden brown on top. If you want the top a little crispier, adjust the oven rack so it’s 6 inches below the broiler element and set the broiler on high. Bake the lasagna, keeping an eye on it, until it reaches your desired color.
Step 5: Let the lasagna sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before cutting into pieces and serving.
Note: If you find the baked sauce too peppery, try brushing the surface with butter. Fat helps relieve heat.
ivy manning He is an award-winning food writer based in Portland, Oregon and the author of ten cookbooks, including: Tacos A to Z: A delicious guide to non-traditional tacos. She is a regular recipe tester and editor for Eater and restaurant and appliance brands.
Dina Avila I’m a photographer based in Portland, Oregon.
