Cacio e Uova
A shepherd's sauce from the Lazio mountains — the simplest possible emulsion of pecorino, egg, and pasta water. It is the ancestor of Carbonara in its most stripped-down form, and it predates the guanciale by centuries.
Cacio e uova — cheese and eggs — is the original mountain shepherd's supper. The shepherds of the Lazio Apennines carried pecorino and eggs as their provisions; pasta was boiled in the open, and the sauce was assembled in the bowl. No meat, no pepper in its early form, no ceremony. It remains one of the few pasta sauces that is not cooked — the heat of the pasta alone is what makes the sauce.
Only a few ingredients
Egg yolk
Whole eggs, beaten in a warm bowl — two per person. Beat them until they're uniform. Not frothy — just combined.
whole eggs, beatenPecorino Romano
Grated very fine. Beat it into the eggs until smooth. The mixture should be thick and homogenous before the pasta touches it.
Black Pepper
A generous grind into the egg-and-cheese mixture. This is the moment for pepper — not at the end.
Pasta Water
A single tablespoon of hot pasta water beaten into the egg mixture before the pasta arrives. It keeps the eggs from scrambling when the hot pasta hits.
The egg white stays in.
Unlike Carbonara, which uses yolks only, Cacio e uova uses the whole egg. The white produces a lighter, frothier sauce that spreads more evenly over the pasta. Using yolks alone produces something closer to Carbonara without the meat — which misses the point. The white is part of the identity. Leave it in.
Spaghetti
The simplest and most traditional pairing.
Tonnarelli
Roman square spaghetti — holds the egg sauce perfectly.
Ready to cook?
These sources we trust. Each one makes it correctly.
Other sauces from the same region
Carbonara
A Roman dish built on patience and restraint. The richness you taste is not cream — it is the alchemy of egg yolk, aged cheese, and the water your pasta cooked in.
Aglio e Olio
Rome distilled to four ingredients. The result depends entirely on how you treat the garlic.
Cacio e Pepe
Beyond simplicity lies complexity. Cheese and pepper. That is all. Yet the three-minute emulsification required to build this sauce separates the masters from the novices.
Burro e Parmigiano (Alfredo)
A silken emulsion of butter, Parmigiano Reggiano, and pasta water. Roman simplicity at its peak—no cream, only technique. The sauce emerges when cold butter meets hot pasta and starchy water.
Amatriciana
A bold, rustic sauce from the mountain town of Amatrice. It is the evolution of Gricia, adding tomato to the holy trinity of guanciale, pecorino, and pepper.
Vignarola
A springtime celebration of Rome's finest vegetables—fava beans, peas, and artichokes tossed with guanciale and Pecorino Romano. Light, seasonal, and deeply Roman.
Papalina
A creamy Roman sauce of peas, heavy cream, and either prosciutto or guanciale. It is a richer cousin to Peas and Bacon, with papal grandeur in its name.
Zozzona
A rustic, hearty Roman pasta of tomatoes, pancetta, and a hint of cream. The name comes from the Roman dialect word 'zozz,' meaning dirty, simple man—it's a working person's dish.
Gricia
The ancestor of Carbonara. Guanciale, Pecorino, and black pepper without the egg—a dish of pure Roman clarity, celebrated for its restraint.
Arrabiata
The angry sauce. Four ingredients, one rule: enough chili to matter.
Pasta alla Romana
A Roman sauce of prosciutto cotto and peas in a light tomato base. No guanciale, no egg, no pecorino — this is the weeknight corner of the Roman kitchen.
Penne alla Vodka
Tomato, cream, and vodka. The alcohol is not a gimmick — it releases flavour compounds from the tomato that water and oil cannot reach. A 1970s classic, still misunderstood.