—
Simone Zanoni’s Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe
Ingredients:
200g high-quality, artisanal spaghetti (Zanoni uses Neapolitan spaghetti)
4-7g wild black peppercorns (adjust to taste, depending on the assertiveness of the pepper)
160g Pecorino Romano, plus two pieces Pecorino rind
3l water seasoned with 15g of kosher salt
Instructions:
Prepare your mise en place (the French world for having all your ingredients prepped and measured) in advance. Crush the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle. (If you do not have a mortar and pestle, use the bottom of a saucepan to crush them on a chopping board.) Grate the Pecorino with a Microplane (grater).
Bring the water to a boil, season with the salt, and add the spaghetti. Stir gently at the beginning to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Meanwhile, toast ¾ of the pepper in a pan over low heat until aromatic, about 1 minute. Be careful not to burn the pepper. Remove the pan from the heat, and gently add 2 to 3 ladlefuls of starchy pasta water to the pepper. Bring to a boil. Add the cheese crusts and simmer.
When the spaghetti is half-cooked (after about six minutes), transfer it to the pan with the peppercorns and starchy pasta water, reserving the remaining cooking water. Transfer another ladleful of water to the pan. After a few more minutes, remove the Pecorino rinds, and place them in a non-stick pan over medium heat to toast on both sides. When nicely toasted, remove and set aside.
Meanwhile, continue cooking the spaghetti until two minutes before al dente (cooked “to the tooth” with a slight bite). Turn off the heat and allow the pasta to rest; there should be a bit of cooking water left in the pan.
After about a minute off the heat, begin adding the grated cheese to the pasta from above, shaking the pan all the while to coat evenly. Add cooking water as needed to help the sauce bind; the sauce will thicken as the pasta sets.
Serve the pasta in a warmed dish. Top with the remaining pepper and a little bit of freshly grated Pecorino. Finely slice the toasted Pecorino rinds and sprinkle on top.
—
Culinary Roots at Home is a BBC Travel series that looks to trending recipes and traces their origins, offering the story behind the dish as well as easy tips on how to make them.
Join more than three million BBC Travel fans by liking us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter called “The Essential List”. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Worklife and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.
