Pasta con Cozze e
Pecorino
Campanian mussel & sheep’s-cheese pasta
Large pasta tubes hold mussels and their savory juices, finished off the heat with grated pecorino and a little parsley.
Paccheri, shelled mussels & grated pecorinoMussels and pecorino,
a Campanian pasta pairing.
Pasta con cozze e pecorino brings mussels together with grated sheep’s-milk cheese. The shellfish juices form the base of the sauce, while the cheese adds salt and a light creamy coating. Large pasta shapes catch both the sauce and the shelled mussels.
In Campania, the pairing appears in Ischia and Castellammare di Stabia. Pasta shapes and herbs vary. The home recipe chooses paccheri, parsley and a modest amount of Pecorino Romano, stirred in off the heat. Keeping the mussel liquid strained and tasting it before using all of it helps control grit and salt.
Explore by food: Fish & seafood · Pasta
Let’s make pasta con cozze e pecorino.
Four first-course portions with paccheri, live mussels and Pecorino Romano. Start with scrubbed, debearded mussels and keep them refrigerated until cooking.
Four first-course portions from 1.2 kg shell-on mussels, weighed before cooking.
Heat the pasta water while mussels steam. The cooking allowance includes shelling/straining between pan stages and the brief off-heat cheese finish.
What you’ll need
- 360 gpaccheri
- 1.2 kglive mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 60 gPecorino Romano, very finely grated
- 45 mlextra-virgin olive oil
- 2garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tbspchopped parsley
- ¼ tspdried chili flakes
- 150 mlwater, for steaming mussels
- 4 lwater, for pasta
- 10 gcoarse salt, for pasta water, adjusted after tasting mussel juices
The recipe starts with cleaned mussels; allow additional time if scrubbing and debearding them yourself. A thin cheese coating is the aim, rather than a heavy cheese sauce. Keep the pan off the heat as cheese is added to reduce clumping.
How to make it
- 01
Inspect and steam
Discard cracked mussels and any open ones. Bring the 150 ml water to a vigorous simmer in a wide lidded pot. Add mussels, cover and steam for 7–9 minutes, shaking the pot occasionally, until shells are fully open and meat is cooked through. Discard any that remain closed.
- 02
Strain and shell
Pour the mussels through a fine sieve lined with damp kitchen paper into a heatproof bowl, keeping the juices. Remove meat from the shells. Taste the liquid and reserve up to 150 ml for the sauce; if very salty, use less and replace the balance with pasta water.
- 03
Cook pasta and garlic
Bring the 4 l pasta water to a boil while mussels cook. After tasting the mussel juices, add up to the measured 10 g salt, then cook paccheri for 2 minutes less than its packet time. Reserve 300 ml pasta water. In a wide pan, soften garlic and chili in oil for 1–2 minutes without browning. Add the reserved mussel juices and simmer for 1 minute.
- 04
Finish the sauce
Add drained paccheri and 100 ml reserved pasta water. Toss and simmer for about 2 minutes until pasta is tender with a slight bite; add more pasta water as needed. Add mussel meat just long enough to heat through. Remove from heat, wait 1 minute, then scatter in Pecorino in three additions, tossing between each. Loosen with small splashes of reserved water until lightly coated. Fold in parsley and serve.
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