Spaghetti cacio e pepe
Ingredients:
- Spaghetti (400 g)
- Pecorino Romano (180 g)
- Black peppercorns (2 tsp)
- Salt
- Pasta cooking water
Method:
Just cheese, pepper and a little patience
Cacio e pepe makes a full dinner out of a remarkably short ingredient list. For four people, allow about 25 minutes and give the last few minutes your attention: the pleasure is in a smooth coating of Pecorino and a warm, generous pepper flavour. Butter, oil and cream are unnecessary. Starchy water brings everything together, provided the cheese does not meet a fiercely hot pan.
Prepare the cheese and pepper
Finely grate the Pecorino into a large bowl; a fine, fluffy texture melts more readily than thick shreds. Crush the peppercorns fairly coarsely. Toast them in a wide, dry pan over medium-low heat for about a minute, just until fragrant, then take the pan off the heat.
Bring about 2.5 litres of water to the boil in a pot wide enough for the spaghetti. Salt lightly, since Pecorino is salty, and add the pasta. Stir frequently, particularly at the beginning: this relatively small quantity of water will become useful, starchy cooking liquid.
Make a smooth cheese paste
After the pasta has cooked for several minutes, take out 100 ml of water and let it cool for two minutes. Mix it into the cheese gradually, stopping when you have a thick, smooth paste; you may not need it all. Add a ladle of hot pasta water to the pepper pan and return it to low heat.
Reserve another 400 ml of cooking water. Transfer the spaghetti to the pepper pan two minutes before al dente and finish cooking there, tossing and adding small splashes of water as needed. Turn off the heat and wait about a minute, until the bubbling stops.
Finish gently and serve
Transfer the pasta and peppery liquid to the bowl of cheese paste. Toss vigorously, adding reserved water a tablespoon at a time until the cheese forms a glossy sauce. The pasta should move freely, without sitting in a puddle. If the sauce becomes too thick, loosen it with another spoonful of water rather than returning it to strong heat.
Serve immediately on warm plates, bringing all four portions to the table together. The sauce thickens as it stands, so leave it a little looser than seems necessary. A simple green salad makes a lovely companion to this deeply savoury pasta.