Cacio e pepe is a traditional Italian pasta and literally means "cheese and pepper". It will therefore come as no surprise that the dish contains grated pecorino romano cheese and black pepper, together with spaghetti, or traditionally tonnarelli.

Some may consider cacio e pepe to be a "dry" version of carbonara when they are two distinct dishes with different ingredients and taste profiles. The traditional carbonara is richer and more creamy due to the use of eggs and guanciale. Cacio e pepe has a distinct flavour because of the sharp pecorino cheese flavour is more pronounced and the heavier use of pepper.

Picolino's take on this dish is a little non-traditional. It uses mafaldine, a ribbon type pasta and tops the pasta with a fried egg and hamburg steak. The dish kinda works for me as the egg yolk adds an additional layer of richness to the pasta and I ain't saying no to adding a protein to an otherwise meatless dish!