Brown Butter Spaghetti

• servings: 4 servings
• total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

500g Spaghetti

80g Parmesan

80g Pecorino

70g Butter

Directions

Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Season with a pinch of salt, then once it comes to a boil again tip in your spaghetti. Cook for a couple of minutes less than the packet specifies, until al dente.

Meanwhile, grate your parmesan and pecorino.

Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add your butter. Once it melts, grind in a generous amount of black pepper and keep cooking for a few minutes longer until you can see the white flecks (the milk solids) turn golden and your kitchen smells like a digestive biscuit.

Turn down the heat to a simmer, then add a ladle of your pasta cooking water to the pan and allow it to bubble up and simmer until it becomes a homogenous mixture.

Remove your spaghetti from it’s pan with tongs and drop it into the melted butter mixture. Add another ladle of pasta water and let it continue cooking for a minute until perfectly tender, tossing around to get it all coated in the brown butter. Sprinkle both your cheeses on top and let them totally melt before tossing your pasta around the pan with your tongs until you have a smooth, creamy, homogenous sauce that coats each length of pasta. Add more pasta water if necessary.

Serve up immediately whilst still hot and glossy, and enjoy.

Notes

This is the simplest, sexiest pasta dish. I make it every week. The combo of cheese, butter and pasta water creates the silkiest sauce.