Gigli Cacio e Pepe

I'll be honest, Cacio e pepe scares me. Why? The sauce. You're going after a silky consistency and without cream, a lot can go wrong in getting there. It's all in the technique; getting the ratio of fat, starch, and cheese to come together to make the sauce just right. Things that have gone wrong in early attempts including cheese turning stiff, almost putty-like in its consistency. Or, the cheese will simply stick to the bottom of the pan.

Thanks to the 2003 movie starring JLo and Ben Affleck, I learned "Gigli" is pronounced gee-lee. Italian for lilies, Gigli makes it THE perfect pasta for this dish. Recipes that need only a few ingredients like Cacio e Pepe require a delicate touch, delicate as, say, a flower.

So, what goes into Cacio e Pepe? The ingredients are in the name: cheese and pepper but with a third crucial ingredient being starchy pasta water. The classic recipe calls for Pecorino Romano made from sheep's milk but really your favorite hard Italian cheese will do nicely. Prepare to sneeze a few times in the kitchen once the black pepper heats up making the air around you a little, well, spicy.

Pour yourself a glass of wine, you're going to need it to get through this process. I'm only kind of kidding.

Serving size: 1

Cooking time: 20 mins

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup dry Gigli pasta (also known as campanelli)

• 1.5 quarts water

• 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper (enough to cover the surface area of the pan)

• 2 tsps olive oil or butter

• 1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano grated

• 1 ladle hot pasta water. This should be all you will need but set aside an extra ladleful as insurance.

Directions:

• Bring the water to a boil and add sea salt, a handful will do

• Add the dry pasta and cook according to the directions on the box although I cook mine a little longer than suggested

When the pasta is done

• In another pan, add the freshly ground pepper and heat for 30 seconds to a minute.

• Add the fat whether it's oil or butter and let it go for 30 seconds

• Ladle in the pasta water, 1 ladle at a time

• Start scooping in the pasta noodles into the pan

• Add grated cheese a handful at a time, folding the cheesy noodles in the starchy water. This is go time! This is the crucial part where you're building the sauce.

• Repeat with the remaining cheese

• Ladle in more pasta water, if needed

The sauce should be creamy. You'll notice "stringing" will occur when you go to plate your dish although a little stringing is okay because overall you're going for a smooth consistency.

Adding cheese a handful at a time to go from this:

To this: