Cacio e Pepe

I'm a massive fan of Big Has - he's a chef, graduate of Jamie Oliver's 15 and legend in the kitchen. He's a bbq wizard and master of pasta and this dish has become a bit of a signature of his. So much so that he has a line of merch with the recipe on!

Cacio e Pepe simply translates to 'cheese and pepper' and it's a glossy, silky dish with strands of pasta (traditionally tonnarelli but you can use anything you like) coated in a mixture of Pecorino, Parmesan and crushed black peppercorns - pure joy! Some tips - this works best with pasta with a rough surface as it helps the sauce to stick (you can get tonnarelli online); use the best ingredients you can afford (it's worth it); and you might want to double this recipe (it's addictive!).

Cacio e Pepe 

Serves 4

25g unsalted butter

7g black peppercorns

40g Pecorino, grated

25g Parmesan, grated

250g tonnarelli (or spaghetti or linguine etc.)

sea salt 

Bring a pan of heavily salted water to the boil.

Melt the butter until it starts to foam. Crush your peppercorns in a pestle and mortar and then add to the foaming butter. 

Boil the pasta - two minutes less than instructed on the packet. Use the pasta water to emulsify the butter (basically make it thick). To do this, you need to add a couple of ladlefuls of the water to the butter and pepper mix, stirring continually.  

Add the pasta to the thick water broth. Give the pasta a good stir to let it suck up the butter then add the Parmesan and stir it in. Add your Pecorino and a splash of pasta water. 

Now here's the important bit... Keep stirring in pasta water until it's wet and silky. You think it's wet enough? It's not, add more water. You want it super wet and super silky. Stick it on a plate and enjoy!