Cacio e Pepe is a pasta dish from Roman cuisine. "Cacio e Pepe" means "cheese and pepper" in several central Italian dialects. As the name suggests, the ingredients of the dish are very simple and include only black pepper, Pecorino Romano cheese, and pasta. The only precaution to be taken in preparing this dish is to leave some of the hot cooking water with the pasta: the heat melts the cheese, while the starches in the water help bind the pepper and cheese to the pasta. Cacio e pepe is typically made with long, thin spaghetti, such as tonnarelli or vermicelli.