Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • Kosher or sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil, olive or vegetable
  • 3 ounces pancetta, cut into thin matchsticks
  • 1 almond-size garlic clove, pounded
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
  • 3 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more if needed

Method

  • Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil, slip in the eggs, and cook for 9 minutes. Cool and peel, then chop, grate, or push through a spider-I prefer the eggs to be pretty chunky. In a medium bowl, season the eggs with salt and pepper and set aside.
  • Warm a small skillet over medium-low heat, add the cooking oil, then the pancetta, and cook until it's the way you like it: soft, crispy, or in between. Drain and set aside both the pancetta and the fat.
  • Add the pancetta, garlic, parsley, olive oil, and a pinch of salt to the chopped eggs. Mix well, taste, and consider adding a tablespoon more of the olive oil or a tablespoon of the reserved pancetta fat. Spread everywhere, as if it were good news, which it is.
  • More good news, this from the salty sea: Replace the pancetta with 8 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped or pounded to a paste. Keep the eggs in there, or don't.