Put a pan of hot salted water on to boil, ready for the pasta.

To prepare the asparagus, break off the woody, fibrous ends of the asparagus, and puré them in a food processor with a little water. Cut off the asparagus spears and set aside. Then thinly slice the remaining tender stem into rounds.

Sauté the guanciale in a cold pan until the guanciale starts to turn golden. Then add the sliced garlic, and the chilli flakes and sauce for 1-2 minutes.

Remove some of the golden gaunciale to garnish later, then add the asparagus purée and a pinch of salt and sauté for a few minutes.

Add the sliced asparagus to the pan along with a few tbsps of water or chicken stock of the purée is too thick. Cook over a medium heat until the asparagus slices soften (just a minute or two).

Add the asparagus spears and cook a few minutes until almost cooked.

Meanwhile cook the tagliolini in the salted water, drain when al dente, reserving a couple of ladlefuls of the pasta water. This should only take 1-2 minutes for fresh tagliolini.

Toss with the asparagus and guanciale, adding a ladle of the cooking water.

Season with salt and pepper, garnish each dish with the reserved guanciale and serve.