Actually, this isn’t our carbonara, it’s the New York Times’.

Serves 3-4

200g pancetta pieces or bacon lardons

Splash olive oil

2 eggs, 2 egg yolks (make a meringue or throw them away, according to your temperament and mood)

1/2 cup of grated pecorino, 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Good grating of black pepper and good grating of nutmeg (the nutmeg is my sole contribution to the recipe). (You can swap the nutmeg for a couple of handfuls of peas, added to the cooking pasta in the last minute or two of cooking time, and some shredded fresh mint, added to the egg and cheese combo.)

Pasta to your appetite

Fry the pancetta in olive oil in a hot pan till just starting to crisp and brown. Meanwhile put the pasta on to cook and boil the kettle again. Fill a large bowl with boiling water and set aside.

Mix together the eggs, cheese and seasoning. At this point I had the dog begging for scraps and a very small person standing next to me saying ‘thcheesthe’ very insistently. Reader, I gave them both cheese.

Then add the cooked pasta to the pan with the pancetta and continue to cook it on a gentle heat for a minute or two.

Empty the bowl of water and immediately add the pasta and bacon and the cheese and egg mixture to the hot bowl. Stir to combine.

Serve with more grated parmesan. Bert had his with fresh strawberries (intended for pudding, but he insisted) and I had mine with a green salad.