International Carbonara Day: yes, it is a thing.

There are now 'international days' for literally everything. The concept of the 'International Day of' (or 'for') started in the middle of the last century as a promotional tool designed to advertise an issue instead of dealing with it, an idea that is now known as the largely useless modern invention of 'raising awareness’.

I had to laugh, metaphorically (I didn't actually guffaw) when I was informed that today was International Carbonara Day. I'm not sure who issued or initiated the day (once again, I don't know the correct verb for the invention and dissemination of an 'international day') but it appeared in an email I receive occasionally from a magazine about Italian food.

The article went on to prescribe the correct recipe for the apparently often badly-made dish, which is a simple combination of pasta, egg yolks, and cheese; or, more specifically, pasta, guanciale, egg yolk, grated pecorino, salt and pepper. 'There is no compromise', insisted the article's writer; but she also went on to admit that the earliest mentions of the dish go back only to the 1940s.

Pasta alla carbonara

I've never used guanciale, a branch of the family of cured pork, but it's available at Mediterranean Wholesalers, a very short and very straight tram journey from this house, or you could stay on the tram another ten minutes and get off at Queen Victoria Market. I use ordinary bacon or even ham at times.

Cook your choice of pasta in plenty of salted water.

While the pasta is cooking, fold some grated pecorino through a couple of egg yolks in a bowl with some cracked black pepper.

Meanwhile, cook diced or sliced guanciale to the point of almost-crispness but never beyond. (It will continue to cook in the pan even off the heat so it's best to delay cooking it until the pasta is almost ready.)

Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the pan in which the guanciale has been cooked. The heat of the pan and the hot pasta should set the egg - fold it around to pick up the salty, flavoursome flecks of meat. You may need a little additional cooking time if the eggs were kept in the fridge or if you are using the whole egg including the whites, as I do.

My variations: I often pair carbonara with gnocchi; the light-as-air potato or ricotta pillows bound up in the bacon-kissed egg mixture is a brilliant combination. I also use chopped parsley: it gives the whole dish an extra taste and texture dimension. Finally, I use plain old parmesan cheese. While the article calls for salt I find the cured pork and hard cheese components of the dish make it more than salty enough.