Cacio e Pepe – Tobie Puttock

Serves four.

Ingredients:

• 320g spaghetti
• 250g freshly grated pecorino or parmesan cheese or a combo of the two.
• 1 tablespoon of freshly grated black pepper plus a little extra for finishing
• Best quality extra virgin olive oil.

Method:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil for the pasta and add the pasta.
2. Cook as per the manufacturers instructions.
3. While the pasta is cooking add the grated cheese and black pepper into a large mixing bowl with a tablespoon or so of the hot pasta water, use a spoon to mix thecheeses with the water while smearing the now melting cheese around the sides of the bowl.
4. Once the pasta is cooked drain out the water reserving a a half cup, add the hot pasta to the bowl with the cheese along with a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin oil.
5. Immediately turn the hot spaghetti in the cheese using tongs so the hot pasta gets a coating of the silky melted cheese, if the mixture seems too thick add a little of the reserved pasta water to the mixture.
6. Serve with a little extra grated pepper.