Cacio e Pepe

Ingredients

• 1 lb spaghetti or tonnarelli
• 2 cups finely grated Pecorino Romano
• 2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper (coarse)
• Reserved pasta water

Method

1. Cook pasta in less water than usual (concentrates starch — use a deep skillet instead of a big pot).
2. Toast pepper in a dry skillet 1 min until fragrant. Add 1 cup pasta water, simmer.
3. Transfer pasta 1 min short of al dente directly into the pepper pan with tongs (bringing starchy water with it).
4. Toss vigorously. Remove from heat. Add Pecorino in handfuls, tossing constantly, adding splashes of pasta water until a creamy, emulsified sauce coats every strand.
5. Serve immediately — it tightens as it cools.

What You're Practicing

• Pasta water as emulsifier: the starch + cheese fat form a stable emulsion
• Temperature control: too hot = clumpy cheese, too cool = won't melt
• Building a sauce from two ingredients — technique is everything here