70gpecorino romanovery finely grated (also keep extra for garnishing or balancing the sauce*)
Handful of parsleyroughly chopped
Instructions
Start boiling your spaghetti or bucatini in salted boiling water for 1 minute less than the packaging instructions
Toast the black pepper on a low heat until fragrant ~about 1-2 minutes
Transfer to a pestle and mortar and grind to a coarse powder. Don’t grind finely, we want to retain some texture
Then melt some butter in a wide pan over a low heat and add the black peppercorns
Next add in the shallots along with the garlic and chilli and sauté over a medium heat until the shallots are translucent and the garlic has turned lightly golden
Place the heat back on low and add the Kashmiri chilli powder. Toast the spice and allow it to infuse into the butter
Turn the heat off and add a good ladle of the starchy pasta water to the butter mix, followed by the pasta
Then add the grated pecorino and vigorously mix the paste to start emulsifying the pasta water, cheese and butter
*To balance the sauce: if it’s too thick then add more pasta water to thin out the sauce. On the contrary if it's too thin then add more grated pecorino
Finally add the parsley and serve immediately
Keyword black pepper, cacio e pepe, chilli, garlic, garlic chilli cacio e pepe, pecorino, spaghetti