Cacio e pepe

4 tbsp Italian extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp black peppercorns, coarsely ground in mortar and pestle
2 tbsp unsalted butter (non-traditional but helps sauce emulsify)
2 oz (56g) pecorino romano, finely grated — this is about a cup in volume if you want to avoid weighing
Spaghetti — 2oz/56g per person is the usual serving size per person, but this recipe works best with 150-200g of pasta, making 2-3 generous portions.

Gently heat the olive oil and pepper in a stainless steel frying or saute pan
Once the pepper starts to sizzle you should get a nice fragrant aroma — once you do, turn off the heat
Cook spaghetti until just al dente — just noticed the original recipe suggests doing this with reduced water to yield a greater starch concentration…tried that once with no noticeable improvement. Reduce salt in pasta water if you do try this.
Add butter and 2-3tbsp pasta water to the oil and pepper, stir until melted
Transfer spaghetti to the oil pan
Add the pecorino romano, in about 3 phases, to the pasta, stirring each addition in vigorously with a fork — if you add it all at once (as per original recipe!) it’s more likely to clump nastily
To help the sauce come together add more pasta water and turn the heat on low under the pan. If you get it right you should have a glossy, smooth sauce. Too much or too little heat ruins things.

Estimated, per serving