Traditional cacio e pepe

Fill a pot with water over high heat, add a big pinch of salt, add the pasta and cook until al dente according to the package.

Toast the peppercorns in a pan, crush them, and mix them with the grated Pecorino in a bowl.

When the pasta is nearly done reserve some pasta water and let it cool a minute or two; move the slightly underdone spaghetti to a skillet.

Pour the cooled pasta water into the cheese and mix to a sludgy sauce; stringiness here means the water was too hot.

With the heat off, pour the cheese mixture over the spaghetti and mix.

Turn the heat to very low and cream the pasta with the sauce until thickened, loosening with more pasta water if it tightens.

Serve with more freshly grated Pecorino and toasted black pepper over the top.

Keep the sauce in a safe zone of roughly 145 to 165F: above the 140F where the cheese proteins denature, and 10 to 15 degrees below the 180F melting point where they coagulate and cannot be saved.