Sansho Cacio e Pepe Udon

Method

1. Finely grate both cheeses and mix them in a bowl. Crush the peppercorns coarsely and thinly slice the spring onion. Mixing in Parmigiano makes the sauce milder and helps it melt smoothly onto the thick noodles.

2. Bring the water to a boil in a 20 cm pot over high heat (10 min). Don't salt it: the cheese and soy bring plenty of salt.

   Add in this stepWater for the udon 2 L

   high heat

3. Melt the butter in a wide 26 cm frying pan over medium-low heat, add most of the pepper and toast for 1 min, until the butter foams and smells nutty and peppery. Add a ladle of the boiling water and swirl to make a light, cloudy sauce.

   Add in this stepButter 15 gWhole black peppercorns ¾ tsp

   medium-low heat

4. Drop the frozen udon into the boiling water and cook for 1 min 30 sec over high heat, gently loosening the blocks with chopsticks, until the noodles are hot and separated. Scoop out a mug of the cooking water, then lift the noodles out with tongs.

   Add in this stepFrozen sanuki udon (about 200 g portions) 2

   high heat

5. Put the udon in the pepper butter with the soy sauce and toss over medium heat for 1 min, until every noodle is glossy. Take the pan off the heat, wait a few seconds, then add most of the cheese in three additions, tossing hard and adding a splash of cooking water each time, until a smooth, creamy sauce clings to the noodles.

   Add in this stepSoy sauce 1 tspPecorino Romano, finely grated 38 gParmigiano Reggiano, finely grated 20 g

   medium heat

6. Pile into warm bowls and sprinkle with the sansho, the rest of the cheese and pepper, the aonori and the spring onion. Eat right away, while the sauce is silky.

   Add in this stepGround sansho pepper ½ tspPecorino Romano, finely grated 6.8 gWhole black peppercorns ¼ tspAonori (green seaweed flakes) 1 tspSpring onion, thinly sliced 1