Ingredients

200 g Rummo’s spaghetti or linguine – 1 pinch sea salt, for the cooking water – 1 large dollop of butter – 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus extra to serve – 60 g Parmigiano or Pecorino, finely grated, plus extra to serve

Instructions

Grate Parmigiano or Pecorino prior to cooking. – When draining pasta make sure to reserve pasta water for this dish. – Add butter and let melt. Then add pepper. – Heat for 1 minute until fragrant. – Add a ladleful of pasta water to butter and pepper mixture. Bring to a boil. – Reduce heat and add pasta with 3/4 of your grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. – Stir and shake pan to melt the cheese allowing sauce to cling to pasta. – Add remaining 1/4 cheese and toss until it also melts. – When serving, sprinkle extra cheese and pepper to each plate. – If desired and have time to prepare, place a sliver of Parmigiano cheese crisp on pasta for garnish.

Parmigiano Crisp Instructions

In a non-stick pan without butter or oil, over medium-high heat, grate even layers of Parmesan directly onto the pan with a cheese slicer. Remove from pan once they turn yellow. Let cool and place on top of nest of pasta as garnish and tasty treat.

Carbonara: Three Simple Ingredients

Carbonara uses egg yolks to create a rich sauce and Pecorino along with Pancetta (or bacon) to give it a wonderful saltiness. Like with Cacio e Pepe, to make the dish even more silky, use a little bit of the pasta water at the end.

Why Pasta water?

Add a splash of pasta water whenever the sauce seems too dry and do not rinse pasta when you drain. It is important that the pasta remains starchy so that ingredients will cling to it. Regular water will take that starch away. 

Plating your Pasta