Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

I've had this recipe for a while now, and I've been dying to write about it here. But no obvious story springs to mind when I think about it, so I've been putting it off. But I can't any longer. It's just so good, I feel it is selfish to keep it to myself any longer.

I first had it at an Italian restaurant where a friend works. The restaurant's ideology is simple, traditional food.
My friend had the cook come out and tell me how to make the dish. It's incredibly easy, and incredibly delicious.

Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

I don't have exact measurements here. I just eyeball how much of what goes in. Actually, when I asked the cook how much cheese he uses per dish, he scoffed, "how ever much you need."

Cook your spaghetti. Reserve some cooking water.

Heat a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Once hot, add a few glugs of olive oil. Crack in some fresh pepper. You need quite a lot of this as you want it to cover the pasta (I hope this is clear in the pictures).

Once scalding hot, reduce to medium-low heat and toss in the spaghetti. Toss to cover pasta with oil.

Add a few handfuls of pecorino cheese (preferably good quality pecorino toscano), stir to melt. Add reserved cooking water if needed.

Enjoy!