{
  "$schema": "/api/v1/schema/recipe.schema.json",
  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0",
  "contentVersion": 1,
  "id": "cacio-e-pepe",
  "slug": "cacio-e-pepe",
  "title": "Cacio e Pepe",
  "description": "Concentrated starch water, toasted black pepper, and finely grated Pecorino Romano meet in a Pecorino-rind-infused pepper tea, then come together off the heat into a silky, glossy emulsion.",
  "path": "/recipes/cacio-e-pepe/",
  "record": "/api/v1/recipes/cacio-e-pepe.json",
  "presentation": {
    "kicker": "Pasta · Off-heat Pecorino emulsion",
    "titleLead": "Silky. Peppery. Glossy.",
    "lede": "Concentrated starch water, toasted black pepper, and finely grated Pecorino Romano meet in a Pecorino-rind-infused pepper tea, then come together off the heat into a silky, glossy emulsion — no direct heat once the cheese goes in.",
    "accent": "bronze"
  },
  "yield": {
    "baseQuantity": 227,
    "unitLabel": "g",
    "min": 57,
    "max": 908,
    "step": 57,
    "label": "Pasta"
  },
  "display": {
    "unitOptions": [
      "g",
      "oz"
    ],
    "defaultUnit": "g",
    "forms": [
      {
        "id": "dry",
        "label": "Dry",
        "factor": 1,
        "approximate": false
      },
      {
        "id": "fresh",
        "label": "Fresh",
        "factor": 2,
        "approximate": true
      }
    ],
    "defaultForm": "dry",
    "primaryIngredientId": "pasta"
  },
  "ingredients": [
    {
      "id": "pasta",
      "name": "Dry pasta",
      "scaling": "proportional",
      "runtime": true,
      "baseAmount": 227,
      "unit": "g"
    },
    {
      "id": "pecorino",
      "name": "Pecorino Romano, finely grated",
      "scaling": "proportional",
      "runtime": true,
      "baseAmount": 136,
      "unit": "g"
    },
    {
      "id": "pepper",
      "name": "Black pepper, medium-fine",
      "scaling": "proportional",
      "runtime": true,
      "baseAmount": 4,
      "unit": "tsp",
      "baseBatchRange": {
        "min": 3.5,
        "max": 4.5,
        "unit": "tsp",
        "scales": false,
        "label": "Practical range"
      },
      "sourceRange": {
        "min": 3.4,
        "max": 4.5,
        "unit": "tsp",
        "note": "Full recovered source range"
      },
      "measurementVisual": {
        "kind": "spoon"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "cheese-paste-water",
      "name": "Warm water, for the Pecorino cream (not boiling)",
      "scaling": "proportional",
      "runtime": true,
      "baseAmount": 136,
      "unit": "ml",
      "note": "Proportional to the Pecorino. Kept warm but never boiling, or the cheese will seize.",
      "approximate": true
    },
    {
      "id": "rind",
      "name": "Pecorino rind",
      "scaling": "fixed",
      "runtime": true,
      "baseAmount": 1,
      "unit": "count",
      "note": "Fixed — does not scale with the batch.",
      "sizeDescription": "one ~2–3 inch piece"
    }
  ],
  "guidance": [
    {
      "id": "pepper-tea-water",
      "name": "Reserved cloudy pasta water (pepper tea)",
      "scaling": "static-guidance",
      "runtime": false,
      "baseAmount": null,
      "unit": "ml",
      "note": "Base-batch guidance, not a live-scaled quantity. Adjust by the pepper tea's color and reduction, not by the pasta amount.",
      "baseBatchRange": {
        "min": 270,
        "max": 340,
        "unit": "ml",
        "scales": false
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "pasta-cooking-water",
      "name": "Pasta cooking water",
      "scaling": "static-guidance",
      "runtime": false,
      "baseAmount": null,
      "unit": "none",
      "note": "A method parameter, not a quantity that scales with the pasta.",
      "rangeText": "1.4–1.7 L / 6–7 cups",
      "methodParameter": true
    }
  ],
  "method": {
    "criticalRule": {
      "title": "Heat off",
      "lead": "Wait 30–60 seconds before adding the Pecorino cream.",
      "detail": "Turn the pan heat completely off before combining the Pecorino paste into the pasta. Adding cheese to a pan that is still actively hot is what causes clumping and a grainy, seized sauce."
    },
    "phases": [
      {
        "id": "phase-01",
        "index": "01",
        "title": "Build the pepper tea"
      },
      {
        "id": "phase-02",
        "index": "02",
        "title": "Finish the pasta"
      },
      {
        "id": "phase-03",
        "index": "03",
        "title": "Build the Pecorino emulsion"
      }
    ]
  },
  "checkpoints": [
    {
      "title": "Pepper tea",
      "items": [
        {
          "text": "Murky",
          "kind": "expect"
        },
        {
          "text": "Deep brown-gray",
          "kind": "expect"
        },
        {
          "text": "Not clear or pale/white",
          "kind": "avoid"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Pecorino paste",
      "items": [
        {
          "text": "Smooth",
          "kind": "expect"
        },
        {
          "text": "Thick",
          "kind": "expect"
        },
        {
          "text": "No dry cheese",
          "kind": "avoid"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Finished sauce",
      "items": [
        {
          "text": "Silky and glossy",
          "kind": "expect"
        },
        {
          "text": "Pepper-gray",
          "kind": "expect"
        },
        {
          "text": "Slightly loose",
          "kind": "expect"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "troubleshooting": [
    {
      "title": "Pale / white sauce",
      "detail": "Should be deeper pepper-brown. Pepper tea insufficiently reduced; insufficient pepper/toast development."
    },
    {
      "title": "Cheese clumping or seizing",
      "detail": "Liquid too hot; cheese added while the pan still had too much active heat."
    },
    {
      "title": "Sauce too thick",
      "detail": "Loosen gradually with small pasta-water additions; remember to finish slightly loose in the first place."
    },
    {
      "title": "Sauce too watery",
      "detail": "Pepper tea insufficiently reduced; too much loosening water added too quickly."
    },
    {
      "title": "Insufficient pepper character",
      "detail": "Move toward the upper end of the approved pepper range (up to ~4½ tsp); ensure proper pepper toasting."
    }
  ],
  "instructions": [
    {
      "stepNumber": 1,
      "action": "Use a relatively low volume of water to cook the pasta so the pasta water becomes concentrated with starch.",
      "phaseId": "phase-01"
    },
    {
      "stepNumber": 2,
      "action": "Dry-toast the medium-fine black pepper for approximately 60–90 seconds.",
      "phaseId": "phase-01"
    },
    {
      "stepNumber": 3,
      "action": "Add cloudy pasta water and the Pecorino rind to form the “pepper tea.”",
      "phaseId": "phase-01"
    },
    {
      "stepNumber": 4,
      "action": "Gently reduce the pepper tea until it becomes murky and visibly deeper brown-gray rather than pale/white.",
      "phaseId": "phase-01"
    },
    {
      "stepNumber": 5,
      "action": "Transfer the pasta into the pepper pan approximately 2–3 minutes before al dente.",
      "phaseId": "phase-02"
    },
    {
      "stepNumber": 6,
      "action": "Remove the Pecorino rind.",
      "phaseId": "phase-02"
    },
    {
      "stepNumber": 7,
      "action": "Finish cooking the pasta in the pepper tea, using small additional splashes of pasta water as needed.",
      "phaseId": "phase-02"
    },
    {
      "stepNumber": 8,
      "action": "Separately combine finely grated Pecorino with warm, not boiling, water to form a smooth cheese cream/paste.",
      "phaseId": "phase-03"
    },
    {
      "stepNumber": 9,
      "action": "Turn the pan heat completely off.",
      "phaseId": "phase-03"
    },
    {
      "stepNumber": 10,
      "action": "Wait approximately 30–60 seconds.",
      "phaseId": "phase-03"
    },
    {
      "stepNumber": 11,
      "action": "Add the Pecorino cream gradually, in stages.",
      "phaseId": "phase-03"
    },
    {
      "stepNumber": 12,
      "action": "Loosen with approximately 1 Tbsp pasta water at a time as needed.",
      "phaseId": "phase-03"
    },
    {
      "stepNumber": 13,
      "action": "Finish the sauce slightly looser than the desired plated consistency, because it tightens as it sits.",
      "phaseId": "phase-03"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "publisher": "Kitchen Notes",
    "sourceDocument": "docs/recipes/cacio-e-pepe.md",
    "sourceType": "owner-supplied canonical specification",
    "nutrition": {
      "supported": false,
      "reason": "No approved nutrition source data currently exists for this recipe."
    }
  }
}