Start by boiling your pasta in a large pot of well-salted water. It should taste a little like the sea. Use less water than usual so your pasta water gets extra starchy—it helps the sauce stick better later.

Cook the pasta 1–2 minutes less than the package recommends so it finishes cooking in the sauce.

Right before draining, save at least 1 cup of that starchy pasta water. You'll need it to create the silky sauce.

In a wide skillet or saucepan, toast the freshly cracked black pepper on medium heat for about a minute. You don’t need oil here—dry toasting helps release its aroma and slight smokiness.

Then add about ½ cup of the reserved pasta water to the pan. This creates a warm peppery base that’s going to carry the cheese beautifully.

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the grated cheese gradually. Stir or whisk constantly until the cheese fully melts and forms a sauce. Add more pasta water as needed to thin it out.

This step is where the sauce is born. You want it creamy—not clumpy or stringy. If it seizes or clumps, stir in a splash of warm (not hot) pasta water and keep mixing until smooth.

Transfer the cooked pasta straight into the pan using tongs. Keep tossing and mixing over low heat, until the noodles are completely coated in that creamy pepper-cheese sauce.

If needed, adjust consistency with more pasta water, one tablespoon at a time.

Plate the pasta immediately. Top with extra grated cheese and a little more cracked pepper if you like it bolder.

Cacio e Pepe is best eaten hot and fresh—before the sauce tightens up.