The idea for this seductively simple recipe comes from a very fine individual called Joe Roberts. Our friendship is mainly web-based, where he fills the pages of social media with vibrant talk of India, literature of all sorts, art, his family and, of course, cooking. Of his original recipe, he says: ‘I’m interested in very simple cookery right now, but using the best possible ingredients. The black peppercorns are really necessary, and I find that heating them in a dry pan and then grinding them adds a wonderful aroma… This is one of those dishes, like cacio e pepe, that is magically more than the sum of its parts.’