Cacio e pepe sauce

Method

• Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a pinch of salt. Heat the sunflower oil and garlic in a small frying pan on a low-medium heat. Stir continuously until the garlic starts to change to a golden color – this will happen rapidly, so you need to act quickly.

  

• As soon as the garlic turns pale yellow, strain it through a metal sieve into a heatproof bowl. Shake off any excess oil and spread the garlic out on kitchen paper to cool down. Although the temperature will drop quickly, the residual heat will continue cooking the garlic for a while, and it will turn golden, but it shouldn’t be bitter.

• Add the butter, black pepper, marjoram and a splash of the cooking water to a saucepan and cook on a low heat until they melt into each other.

  

• Add the parmesan, but don’t stir it. Leave the parmesan to sit and melt from the heat of the pan – this prevents it from becoming chewy cheesy balls. Once the parmesan has melted.