Roman pasta dish with Pecorino Romano cheese, black pepper, and perfectly cooked spaghetti in creamy sauce.
# Components:
→ Pasta
01 - 14 oz spaghetti or tonnarelli
→ Cheese
02 - 4.2 oz Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated
→ Seasonings
03 - 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns, freshly cracked
04 - 1 teaspoon kosher salt for pasta water
→ Optional
05 - 1 tablespoon unsalted butter for extra creaminess
# Directions:
01 - Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt, then cook the spaghetti until al dente, approximately 1 minute less than package instructions. Reserve 1.5 cups of pasta cooking water before draining.
02 - While the pasta cooks, toast the freshly cracked black pepper in a large dry skillet over medium heat for about 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add 1 cup of reserved hot pasta water to the skillet with the pepper. Reduce heat to low.
04 - Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss to coat, allowing the pasta to absorb the peppery water.
05 - Remove the skillet from heat. Gradually sprinkle in the Pecorino Romano, tossing and stirring vigorously to create a creamy sauce. Add more reserved pasta water, a splash at a time, if the sauce is too thick.
06 - If desired, add butter and toss until melted and emulsified throughout the pasta.
07 - Serve immediately, topped with extra Pecorino Romano and additional cracked black pepper.
