Cacio e pepe

Sometimes only a bowl of spaghetti cheesy stodge will do. I suppose in some ways this is the equivalent of a eating a slice of buttered white Warburtons bread. Although I expect the average Roman wouldn't agree. There are many, many different ways to make this dish, even correct ones, but this one seems to work for me.

You'll need:

In an ideal world, some pici. I used spaghetti
In an ideal world, pecorino cheese. I only had Parmesan (sorry purists)
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
Big blob of butter - about a forkful
Some basil leaves for the top, if you prefer some greenery

Method:

Cook the pasta according to the instructions - usually about 10-11 minutes. While that's boiling away, grind the pepper and finely grate the cheese into a bowl.

Reserve about 3 tablespoons of the pasta water, then drain the pasta when it's done. Keep that to one side in a sieve (or whatever you've drained into). Plop the butter into the pan, melt it. Tip in the pepper and cheese and give it a good stir. Put the pasta back in, and stir. Add some of the pasta water if it's looking a bit dry or claggy.

Tip into a bowl, throw on a few basil leaves. Add more cheese if you like.

Effort to taste ratio (both out of 10):
2:6

Verdict:
Definitely better with pecorino, but the Parmesan needed using up.