Cacio e pepe is one of the most ancient dishes in Italian cuisine and the recipe dates back to the Roman Empire. For centuries, Roman Shepards viewed cacio e pepe as the perfect meal. Dried pasta, aged pecorino and black peppers were easy-to-carry ingredients and hard to spoil. The dish also does not need butter, oil or cream. The starch in the cooking water and grated pecorino combined in the right way are enough to create the perfect cacio e pepe sauce, along with an abundant amount or black pepper as required with many Roman recipes.