Pasta alla Gricia

Steps

1. Start by rendering the bacon in a pan, keeping some of the rendered fat for flavor.
2. Bring a tall pot of water to a rolling boil and add plenty of salt.
3. Add the linguine to the boiling salted water and stir to ensure it goes down into the water.
4. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente, reserving about 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
5. In the pan with the rendered bacon fat, add the Pecorino cheese and Parmesan cheese. Stir in black pepper.
6. Add a little bit more cheese and some reserved pasta water to the sauce mixture, letting it cook on low heat until flavors meld.
7. Transfer the drained linguine directly into the sauce pan.
8. Dump the cheeses (Pecorino and Parmesan) over the pasta in the sauce. Add additional pasta water as needed while tossing everything together.
9. Continue to toss the pasta in the sauce on low heat, adding more cheese and pasta water if necessary until a creamy consistency is achieved.