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1
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it generously, since bottarga is the only other seasoning in the dish and under-salted water will leave the pasta flat beneath it. Add the spaghetti and cook until it is two minutes short of the packet time, so the strand still has pronounced resistance at the core — it will finish cooking in the pan and must not arrive there already soft.
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2
While the pasta cooks, warm the olive oil in a wide pan over low heat, then add the sliced garlic and crumbled chilli, so the oil draws out their fragrance slowly rather than frying it off in a sharp burst. Infuse gently until the garlic turns pale gold and fragrant but takes no further colour — it should smell sweet and aromatic, not sharp or bitter.
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3
Remove the pan from the heat entirely before any bottarga enters it, because even a moderate flame will turn its briny, oceanic savour harsh and grainy in moments. This is where the dish lives or dies: grate half the bottarga block (40 g) directly into the warm oil and stir to combine, forming a loose, golden emulsion that looks glossy and cohesive, not separated.
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4
Lift the spaghetti from the boiling water with tongs and transfer it directly to the pan, carrying a little pasta water with it, so the starch in that water helps bind the oil and bottarga into a coating that clings to every strand. Toss off the heat, adding pasta water by the spoonful if needed, until the sauce is fluid and every strand is evenly gilded, not dry or sandy.
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5
Add the chopped parsley and toss once more, then divide immediately among four warmed plates so the emulsion does not tighten as it cools. Shave the remaining bottarga (40 g) in thin slices over each portion — the residual warmth of the pasta will soften the shavings and coax out their flavour without cooking them — and serve at once.