ONE PAN, ONE PORTION:
Salt 115g or 4oz
dried spaghetti 30g or 1/8c
extra virgin olive oil 2-3g or 1-1.5tsp
coarsely ground black pepper 30g or 2 1/4Tbsp
chilled, cubed unsalted butter 30g or 1/4c
pecorino romano cheese
finely grated Aged parmesan, grated (garnish)
Freshly cracked black pepper (garnish)
Fill large/wide shallow pan with water and bring to a boil. You can use a standard saucepan if you don’t have a shallow pan big enough to fit spaghetti, but don’t use too much water here - we want the water to get starchy. Once boiling add 2 large pinches of salt and spaghetti.
Heat medium saute pan (i’m using a 10”) over medium high heat. Add oil and black pepper. Shake to combine and fry pepper in oil for about 30 seconds. When beginning to take on color, remove heat from pan.
When pasta is cooked to al dente, use tongs to transfer spaghetti into pan with pepper/oil along with about 60g/2oz pasta water - again, we’re still off heat. Add in 15g (or half) of the cold butter and swirl and toss in while butter melts. Once the butter is emulsified, add the remaining 15g butter. Swirl and toss until emulsified. Sauce should be opaque and unbroken. If sauce looks tight, add more pasta water (I added 30g/1oz) and toss to combine, switching to tongs to finish tossing and incorporating when sauce begins to thicken. Add another splash of pasta water if needed (30g/1oz or so). If cheese isn’t completely melted, place pan over lowest heat for only about 15 seconds or until cheese is just melted, continuing to stir/toss.
Plate up and top with grated parm and cracked black pepper.