Manteca: Tonnarelli cacio e pepe in 15 minutes by co-founder Chris Leach

Manteca co-founder Chris Leach tells LondonWorld’s Imogen Lepere how to make the perfect cacio e pepe.
Manteca’s tonnarelli cacio e pepe. Credit: Chris Leach InstagramManteca’s tonnarelli cacio e pepe. Credit: Chris Leach Instagram
Manteca’s tonnarelli cacio e pepe. Credit: Chris Leach Instagram

Tonnarelli cacio e pepe is one of my guilty food pleasures and it is the perfect example of a dish you can put together with very few ingredients in a short space of time.

If you’ve got some parmesan, pecorino or a dried hard cheese in the fridge, some black pepper, a little bit of butter and some dry pasta - you’ve got a fantastic dinner.

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The new Manteca restaurant in Shoreditch. Credit: Chris Leach InstagramThe new Manteca restaurant in Shoreditch. Credit: Chris Leach Instagram
The new Manteca restaurant in Shoreditch. Credit: Chris Leach Instagram

Tonnarelli cacio e pepe by Chris Leach

Serves one

Ingredients

10g Freshly ground black pepper – or use a mix of peppercorns – black, pink, even szechwan

20g Butter

30g Grated Pecorino Romano plus more to finish

100g Tonnarelli or spaghetti

1 Lemon

Instructions

Bring a large pan of water to the boil.

Salt until the water tastes highly seasoned – but not like the sea!

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Cook according to the packets instructions or a couple of minutes for fresh pasta.

Start the sauce a few minutes before the pasta is ready.

Toast the black pepper in a dry pan until fragrant but do not let it burn about a minute.

Add the butter and a big ladle full of pasta water and let boil together until emulsified.

Add the pasta to the boiling emulsification with the cheese.

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Toss rapidly until well combined and all the pasta is coated add a little squeeze of lemon juice.

Plate the pasta and grate more fresh pecorino over the top and a last grind of fresh pepper.