Tim Anderson’s miso e pepe recipe

“Italy: once again, I’m sorry,” MasterChef winner Tim Anderson says.

“This is cacio e pepe – pasta with cheese and pepper – but, you know, with miso. I can’t help it if miso is such a versatile stand-in for cheese!

“It’s pretty simple, but it requires some attention to get the sauce’s consistency right.

“When you plate it up, it should look a little thin – this is because as it sits, the pasta will absorb water, and if too much water is absorbed, the emulsion will break and fat will separate out.

“It will still taste OK, but it will be oily rather than creamy, so keep that sauce loose!”

Miso e pepe

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)

1tbsp olive oil
30g butter
30 grinds of black pepper, plus a little more to finish
30g white miso
150g spaghetti or linguine
Grated Pecorino cheese, to garnish (optional)

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil and butter together in a frying pan over a medium-high heat.

2. Add the pepper and let it sizzle in the foaming butter for a few minutes, then whisk in the miso until no lumps remain.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and cook the pasta according to the package instructions.

4. In the final one to two minutes of cooking the pasta, add two ladlefuls of pasta water to the miso-butter mixture and raise the heat to bring it to the boil. If it’s very watery, let it reduce in the pan for one to two minutes, but don’t let it get too thick – the consistency should be more milky than creamy.

5. Drain the pasta and tip it into the pan, then quickly toss it through the sauce, switch off the heat and dish up. Garnish, if you like, with grated Pecorino or some furikake.

Tip: To make it vegan, use plant butter and vegan furikake to garnish.

JapanEasy Kitchen by Tim Anderson is published in hardback by Quadrille, priced £26. Photography by Patricia Niven. Available now.