Cacio e Pepe

Method

1. 01

   Step 1. Start cooking the pasta in as little salted water as possible. You’ll need pasta water for this and the less water there is, the more starchy it will be, which is key for creaminess.

2. 02

   Step 2. Toast the peppercorns in a pan on medium heat until you start smelling them (no fat needed here). Once the pepper is nice and toasty, take it out and crush it in a mortar or equivalent.

3. 03

   Step 3. In a bowl, make a cream by mixing all the pecorino with some pasta water and some of the pepper. You wanna keep the sauce on the slightly runnier side. I would suggest adding the pepper a bit at a time and tasting as you go.

4. 04

   Step 4. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and place it in a bowl conserving as much pasta water as possible. Let the pasta cool down for a few minutes before proceeding to incorporate the cream. Letting the pasta cool down before adding the cheese is crucial because if the pasta is too hot the cheese will clump up and the dish will be ruined.

5. 05

   Step 5. Once your pasta has stopped smoking, add in the cheese and start mixing vigorously. Your sauce will get thicker the more time goes by, so at any point use some more of the pasta water you kept aside to adjust the consistency.

6. 06

   Step 6. Enjoy :)