Pasta alla gricia

Step 1: Bring 3 litres of water to the boil (a little less than usual, so it becomes starchier) and add 2 tsp salt.

Step 2: Toast 2 tsp black peppercorns in a dry, wide frying pan over a medium heat for 1 minute, until fragrant. Tip half into a bowl and leave the rest in the pan.

Step 3: Add 7 oz guanciale to the pan, turn the heat to medium-low and render it slowly until the batons are amber and crisp at the edges and sitting in clear fat. Don't hurry it on a high flame: the outside burns before the fat melts and the whole dish tastes bitter.

Step 4: Cook 14 oz rigatoni in the boiling water for 2 minutes less than the packet says. Scoop out two mugs of the cooking water before draining.

Step 5: Put 3 ½ oz pecorino romano and the reserved pepper in a bowl. Let a few tablespoons of the pasta water cool for a minute, then mash it into the cheese with a fork to make a thick, smooth cream.

Step 6: Add a ladle of pasta water to the guanciale and its fat and swirl over a medium heat until it turns cloudy and emulsified. Add the drained rigatoni and toss for 2 minutes, adding more water if the pan looks dry, until the pasta is al dente.

Step 7: Take the pan off the heat, add the pecorino cream and toss quickly, loosening with splashes of water, until the sauce is silky and coats every tube. Serve at once.