“In this elemental Roman pasta dish, cheese provides the salt. Casio is a hard sheep’s milk cheese similar to pecorino and is just a little sharper than Parmesan. With the aroma of cracked black pepper and the chewy texture of the semolina pasta, it’s a perfect three-way marriage.”

Servings: 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

14 ounces|397 grams boxed dried spaghetti
½ cup|120 grams unsalted butter, cut into 8 equal pieces
½ cup|120 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black peppercorns
2 cups|220 grams freshly grated cacio de Roma or pecorino cheese
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the pasta. Quickly return to a boil and cook until tender yet firm, 8 to 9 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving the pasta water.
2. Just before the pasta is ready, ladle about 2 cups|475 ml of pasta water into a large skillet. Add the butter, olive oil, and cracked pepper and bring to a simmer over medium-high.
3. Add the drained pasta to the pan. Simmer gently until the sauce is slightly creamy (most of the sauce will be absorbed by the pasta), about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the cacio or pecorino cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
4. Divide among warm pasta bowls and top with the remaining 1 cup cheese and a few grinds of black pepper.

From Chef’s Night Out: Brad Spence

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