Cacio e Pere (Pear and Pecorino Pasta)

Ingredients

• 80 g pasta, paccheri (about 3 oz)
• 1 each ripe pear, left unpeeled
• 4 each generous spoonfuls of Pecorino Romano, finely grated
• Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste, to taste
• A drizzle of olive oil, to taste
• A pinch of salt for the pears, plus salt for the pasta water, to taste
• Starchy pasta water, reserved, to taste

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the pasta water and salt it.

2. 2

   Caramelize the pear. Core the pear, leave the skin on, and dice it small. Fry it in a little olive oil with a pinch of salt until browned and caramelized, about 3 to 5 minutes, then set it aside in a bowl.

   3 min
3. 3

   Make the Pecorino paste. Put the grated Pecorino in a bowl, crack in black pepper, add a small splash of hot pasta water, and stir off the heat into a thick paste like ricotta.

4. 4

   Cook the paccheri until just shy of al dente, about 1 to 2 minutes less than the package says, since it finishes in the pan.

   1 min
5. 5

   Bloom the pepper. In a wide pan, toast a good grind of black pepper, then add a ladle of pasta water.

6. 6

   Toss the pasta. Move the paccheri straight into the pan with a strainer, add another ladle of pasta water and toss over the heat for a minute or two. Stir the pears back in.

7. 7

   Off the heat, add the cheese. Take the pan off the flame, spoon in the Pecorino paste and stir and toss hard until it turns into a smooth, creamy sauce. Add a splash more pasta water if it's thick. Serve right away.