I'm Lucia — I'll Cook Cacio e Pepe With You in My Testaccio Kitchen

My name is Lucia and I grew up in Testaccio, which is where Romans eat. My grandmother made cacio e pepe three times a week for 60 years and she taught me. Proper cacio e pepe has three ingredients — pasta, Pecorino Romano, and black pepper — and it takes about 10 years to stop making it wrong. I take small groups into my kitchen in the morning for a 2-hour session where we make cacio e pepe from scratch, along with supplì (the Roman fried rice balls that are the best bar snack in the world) and a simple tiramisù. We eat everything together at the table with a glass of Frascati. In the afternoon I walk you through Testaccio market — the best food market in Rome and almost entirely unknown to visitors.