We can’t yet travel to Roma, but we can definitely dream about it and imagine being there while eating this Roman dish.
This pasta only requires three ingredients but yet is one of the hardest to master.
Along with carbonara, amatriciana, gricia and many others, this dish is one of the piers of the “Cucina Romana”
In the upcoming weeks, I’ll try to make each one of them so we can have a full Roman culinary tour.
INGREDIENTS (serve 2ppl)
180 g spaghetti
100g Pecorino Romano, finely grated
Black pepper, cracked
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
METHOD
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook it just before al dente as per packet instructions, stirring it occasionally.
Meanwhile, in a frying pan, over medium heat, add a splash of extra virgin olive oil and cracked black pepper to taste (this recipe require a generous amount of pepper, so don’t be shy).
Let the pepper toast and once fragrant add a ladle of the pasta water and turn the heat off.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain it, add it to the frying pan with pepper mixture and over medium heat, start tossing vigorously to combine. We want the starch from the pasta to come out and combine with pasta water to create a sauce.
Now remove the pan from the heat and start by adding half of the grated Pecorino and a ladle of pasta water.
Keep tossing the pasta and slowly a Pecorino cream will start to form.
Add the rest of the cheese along with extra water (if necessary) and continue tossing.
If the sauce is getting too thick and the pasta hard to toss, add extra water to adjust the consistency.
The cream at this stage should be smooth with no lumps and coating the pasta nicely.
Serve immediately with an extra generous crack of pepper to top it off.
Davide
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