Hetty Liu McKinnon’s “Cacio e Pepe”

This is no ordinary cacio e pepe. It comes with a potent three-peppercorn mix—black, white and Sichuan—which brings pungency, heat, fruitiness and mouth-numbing deliciousness. I got the idea for this boundary bending dish when I was writing an article about the variety of peppercorns found around the world, and how these would taste in different applications. The combination of cacio (sharp pecorino) and pepe (black pepper) is one of the world’s most flawless flavor pairings, but this little tweak, with the addition of white and Sichuan peppercorns, is also quite intriguing. I use whole peppercorns and pound them using my mortar and pestle for the freshest flavor. Everyone has a different level of tolerance to Sichuan peppercorns, so I encourage you to add as much or as little as you can enjoy (without losing feeling in your mouth), adding more black or white pepper if you prefer. When I made this dish for my kids, my son Dash happily ate three-quarters of the bowl before he came running into the kitchen for water—the numbing sometimes takes a little while to set in. The snow peas are a real treat here—finely sliced and cooked briefly, they stay crisp, providing a fresh relief from the spice. Timing is everything in this recipe—start the sauce just as your noodles are almost ready; that way, you can add the noodles straight into the sauce without having to drain them and rinse in cold water (which washes off the starch that helps bind the noodles to the sauce, giving a silky finish).