4 quality Italian sausages

olive oil

4 ounces pancetta, cut into matchsticks

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

453 g dried linguine (1 package/1 lb)

6 large free-range egg yolks

75 ml milk

50 mL heavy cream

80 g Parmesan cheese , freshly grated

1 lemon , zest of

1/4 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley , chopped

extra virgin olive oil

1. Start water boiling

2. With a sharp knife, slit the sausage skins lengthways and pop all the meat out. Using wet hands, roll little balls of sausagemeat about the size of large marbles and place them to one side.

3. Heat a large frying pan and add a good splash of olive oil. Gently fry the sausage meatballs until golden brown all over, then add the pancetta and continue cooking for a couple of minutes, until it’s golden. 

4. Start pasta

5. In a large bowl, whip up the egg yolks, cream, half the Parmesan, the lemon zest and parsley. 

6. When the pasta is cooked, drain it in a colander, reserving a little of the cooking water, and immediately toss it quickly with the egg mixture back in the pasta pan. 

7. Add the hot sausage meatballs and toss everything together. 

The egg will cook delicately from the heat of the linguine, just enough for it to thicken and not scramble. The sauce should be smooth and silky. 

8. If the pasta becomes a little claggy, add a few spoonfuls of the reserved cooking water to loosen it slightly. Sprinkle over the rest of the Parmesan, season if necessary, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve. Eat immediately!