cheese
Pecorino Romano
Aged sheep-milk hard cheese; salty, sharp.
- Origin
- Lazio / Sardinia, Italy
- Moisture
- low
About
Pecorino Romano is a hard, salty, aged sheep's-milk cheese from Lazio, Sardinia, or the Tuscan province of Grosseto. The flavor is sharper, saltier, and gamier than Parmigiano-Reggiano — sheep milk is fattier and more aromatic. On pizza, it's the canonical cacio e pepe finish (with cracked black pepper), works in any Roman dish, and adds bite to a tomato-based sauce when stirred in late. Use sparingly because of the salt; if you use Pecorino, dial back the salt elsewhere in the pie.
History
Pecorino Romano was the field ration of Roman legionaries — ~27 g per soldier per day, per Pliny the Elder — and has been made continuously in central Italy for at least two thousand years. Most modern production is on Sardinia, where the climate suits the sheep.