Yields about 1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz)

Pancetta is a very simple cured piece of pork belly that can be made using salt and simple spices and herbs you’d find in supermarkets. Most regions of Italy do a version and the spicing varies with the location. It’s used mostly in pasta sauces — carbonara and amatriciana are the most famed if you don’t have guanciale (cured pig cheek) and the like — though you might find pancetta on a pizza or draped over quail or chicken in place of bacon. It gets better by being hung for six weeks, but we’ve found you can start carving off chunks around the two-week mark if you’re impatient. The problem with that is you reduce the amount of really good stuff you’ll eat later.

20 fresh sage leaves

2 small fresh rosemary sprigs

20 whole black peppercorns

2 whole nutmeg

200 g (7 oz) medium-grain pure sea salt

2 kg (4 lb 8 oz) piece of pork belly

Place half of the sage, rosemary and peppercorns in a mortar. Finely grate 1 nutmeg on top and use a pestle to pound until a coarse paste is formed. Add ½ teaspoon of the salt if needed to get it to grind up well. Stir this herb mixture into the remaining salt to combine.

Put the pork belly in a large non-reactive tub and rub over the salt mixture. Leave to cure for 3 days in the refrigerator. (You will also need to refrigerate the remaining herbs separately).

When the pork has cured, rinse off the salt, then place the remaining sage, rosemary and peppercorns in a mortar. Finely grate over the remaining nutmeg and use a pestle to pound to a coarse paste. You may need to add another ½ teaspoon salt to get it to grind up really well.

Massage the herb mixture into the meat so it goes into the whole open side (you won’t be able to get it to stick to the skin, so don’t bother). Leave to hang in a cool, airy but not breezy place for about 4 weeks, although 6 weeks is preferable.