Carbonara

Step 1

Boil a pan of water and when it is up to temperature add the half rigatoni. Add a little salt to the water.
The pecorino cheese and the pork cheek/rigatino will in fact help to give the right flavour to the dish.

Step 2

While the pasta is cooking, cut the pork cheek/rigatino into cubes or strips after removing the rind.
Heat a non-stick pan and sauté the pork cheek/rigatino without adding any other fat.
The secret here is cutting the meat: don’t make it too thin, but thick enough to leave it crispy on the outside. Turn off once it has become crispy.

Step 3

In the meantime, let’s prepare the sauce. One of the rules for portioning is to add one egg yolk each. With this portioning the pasta will be very creamy.
Beat the egg with a fork and add the pecorino and grated cheese, mixing everything well until the consistency is nice and creamy.

For the fried egg, separate 4 yolks from the egg white, place each one in a cup covered with breadcrumbs and place in the fridge for 4 hours.
Fry them in lots of oil for 40 seconds so that the heart remains warm and creamy.

Step 4

Drain and toss the pasta in the fat released from the pork cheek/rigatino, adding a little cooking water to facilitate release of the starches. Remember to keep a ladle of cooking water aside.
Add the egg and pecorino cream to the pasta with the pork cheek/rigatino, doing this off the heat:
Add the cooking water and stir, mixing quickly with a wooden spoon.

Step 5

Serve the carbonara half rigatoni, placing the breaded and fried egg on it while still hot, a few crispy strips of pork cheek/rigatino that you have left aside and a little freshly ground pepper.