Spaghetti alla Carbonara, · 12 servings

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and salt it well; it should taste pleasantly seasoned.

Trim the hard rind from the 450 g guanciale, then slice it about 5 mm (¼ in) thick and cut the slices into strips roughly 1 cm (⅜ in) wide. Keep the rind to flavour a soup.

Put the guanciale into a cold non-stick pan and set it over medium-high heat. Let it sizzle in its own fat for about 10 min, stirring now and then.

While the guanciale cooks, drop the 960 g spaghetti into the boiling water and cook until al dente, a minute short of the packet time.

Put the 18 egg yolks in a bowl, add the 150 g Pecorino Romano and a generous grinding of black pepper, and whisk until you have a thick, smooth cream.

Turn off the heat under the guanciale. Lift the pieces out with a slotted spoon into a small bowl, leaving all the fat behind. Add a ladle of pasta water to the fat in the pan and swirl.

Drain the spaghetti, or lift it with tongs, straight into the pan and toss it briefly in the fat and water so every strand is coated.

Move the pan off the heat entirely. Pour in the egg cream and toss quickly and constantly so the residual heat thickens it. Loosen with a little more pasta water if needed.

Stir the guanciale back through, toss once more, and serve at once with extra Pecorino Romano, to serve and a little more pepper on top.