Cacio e pepe

Cook it at home: Cacio e pepe

The trick is a pecorino cream made off the heat with lukewarm pasta water, so the cheese melts smooth instead of clumping. Use less water than usual so it's starchy.

Pans and tools

• Wide pot
• Wide skillet
• Microplane grater
• Mortar and pestle
• Tongs

You’ll need

• 14 oz (400 g) tonnarelli, spaghetti or rigatoni (bronze-cut if possible)
• 7 oz (200 g) pecorino Romano, finely grated on a Microplane (about 2 1/2 cups loosely packed)
• 2 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
• Coarse salt for the pasta water (about half the usual amount; pecorino is salty)

Steps

1. Bring 3 quarts (3 l) water to a boil in a wide pot (less water than usual makes it starchier) and salt it lightly.
2. Toast the peppercorns in a dry wide skillet over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant, then crush them coarsely in a mortar or with a pan. Put half back in the skillet.
3. Put the pecorino in a bowl. Add the pasta and cook 2 minutes less than the package says.
4. While it cooks, ladle about 1/2 cup of the pasta water into a cup and let it cool for a minute or two (very hot water seizes the cheese). Add it to the pecorino little by little, whisking with a fork, until you have a thick, smooth paste like soft cream cheese.
5. Add 1/2 cup pasta water to the skillet with the pepper and bring to a simmer.
6. Lift the pasta straight into the skillet with tongs. Toss over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, adding splashes of pasta water, until it's al dente and the water has become a little glossy.
7. Take the pan off the heat and wait 30 seconds. Add the pecorino cream and toss hard and fast, adding a splash more pasta water, until the sauce is creamy and clings to every strand.
8. Serve at once in warm bowls, with the rest of the pepper and a little more pecorino on top.

Contains: Wheat, milk.