About the Recipe

From Rome, Lazio comes one of the most simple, elegant, and ancient dishes in Italian cuisine with only three ingredients. Cacio e Pepe which means "cheese & pepper", was a favoured dish with Roman shepherds as the three ingredients would keep for long periods.

One of the key secrets to this wonderfully creamy dish is starch from the pasta water - never, ever add cream, oil, or butter - then it's not authentic Cacio e Pepe.

Method

1. In a pot, bring water to boil. Make sure the water doesn't fill the pot – it should be shallow (ie. a lot less than the normal amount of water you would use to boil pasta). Lightly salt the water when it comes to a boil.

2. In the mean time, finely grate the pecorino.

3. With a mortar and pestle, grind up the peppercorns to a fine consistency. Set 1.5 tsp of the pepper aside- this is the pepper you will be using.

4. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook it for half of the amount of time indicated on the box. It will finish cooking in the pan.

5. While the pasta is cooking, heat a stainless steel pan over medium heat. Add the 1.5 tsp of pepper and toast it, maximum one minute. You should smell the aroma of black pepper, but don't burn it.

6. Once the pepper is toasted add a ladle of pasta water to the pan.

7. Boil the pasta for half the amount of time that the package indicates (eg. if it says, 10 minutes on the package, boil it for 5 minutes). Add the pasta to the pan (it will finish cooking in the pan – this process is called "risottare"

8. Over medium heat, let the pasta finish cooking in the pan. Move it around with tongs, and by shaking the pan when it is cooking. Add pasta water as needed. The point is to get the starch to release into the pan. You want there to be a little bit of starchy liquid left in the pan. This is what helps form the cream.

9. While the pasta is cooking in the pan, add a small amount of pasta water to the grated pecorino. With a fork, mix the pasta water in until the mixture forms a paste. Set it aside.

10. When the pasta is al dente, remove the pasta from the heat. Wait 30 seconds, and add the pecorino mixture to the pan, and stir quickly with tongs. A beautiful creamy consistency should form between the pecorino and the starchy liquid in the pan.

11. Plate, and spoon the creamy sauce on top. Add more fresh pepper if desired. Enjoy your cacio e pepe!