Purists look away now. This recipe started life as a cacio e pepe but I just wanted that hint of chilli and garlic and so thought of mixing these two classics. I was really really pleased with how it turned out.

Ingredients
400g spaghetti
60ml olive oil plus 2 tbsps
60g butter
4 garlic cloves finely sliced
1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper, plus extra to serve
50g Parmesan, finely grated
3 tbsps parsley (roughly 15g, large stalks removed)

Method
Bring a large pan of heavily salted water to the boil.

When boiling, cook the pasta according to packet instructions, usually around 10 minutes depending on the brand.

When the pasta only has roughly 5 minutes left, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, then add the garlic, chilli and black pepper. Cook until fragrant and the garlic sizzling, a few minutes, be careful, you do not want the garlic to burn, just for the garlic to lose its raw taste so as soon as you see the garlic starts to go golden add 60ml of water and stir until combined.  Add another 60ml of the water along with 40g of butter and keep stirring until emulsified.

When the pasta is cooked, do not drain.  Reduce the heat and using tongs, put the spaghetti straight into the oil mixture, some of the water will transfer with the pasta and that is fine.

Add the cheese, remaining butter and oil and stir vigorously with a pasta spoon or fork until the cheese is completely melted. The ‘sauce’ should be clinging to the pasta, if it does not, add another 60ml of water and continue to stir with your pasta spoon.  Check the seasoning and adjust if needed.  To get everything thoroughly combined will take around 5 or so minutes.

Put the pasta into bowls and serve hot.