You toss tonnarelli through a cream that is only pecorino and pasta water, black pepper toasted until fragrant. Three ingredients and nowhere to hide. The plate should look simple and taste loud — you will know at once if the cheese has seized.
Roman, and older in spirit than carbonara. Pecorino and pepper were shepherd food in the hills of Lazio, carried because they kept; the city made a pasta of them. Romans will watch you make it.
Grate the pecorino as fine as dust. Work off the heat, toss furiously, add water until it coats. It should cling, not clump. Serve at once.
Method
- 01
Crush the peppercorns coarsely and toast them in a dry pan until they smell warm and floral, half a minute — you'll know by the nose. Meanwhile, cook the tonnarelli or spaghetti in well-salted water. Don't walk away from the pepper; it goes from fragrant to burnt in a breath. Keep that pan handy; the pasta is coming to it, not the other way around.
- 02
Put the finely grated pecorino in a bowl — as fine as dust, or it will clump — and beat in a few spoonfuls of the starchy pasta water until you have a smooth paste. It should look like wet mortar and smell sharply of sheep's milk. Work it well; lumps of cheese will not melt later. Keep this bowl close to the stove.
- 03
Lift the pasta into the pepper pan with another splash of cooking water, and toss so the grains of pepper cling to the strands. Off the heat, add the pecorino paste and toss furiously, adding water a spoon at a time until the cheese melts into a cream. This is three ingredients and nowhere to hide, so work fast and don't panic. The starch is what makes it silky.
- 04
Look at the pan: the sauce should coat every strand and cling, not clump into little lumps of cheese. If it seizes, add another spoon of hot water and toss like you mean it — it will come back. Serve at once, with more crushed pepper over the top. Romans will watch you make this, so hold your nerve and get it to the table.
