Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to package directions until al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.
While the pasta is cooking, dice the guanciale (or pancetta) into small pieces. In a large pan, cook the guanciale over medium heat until crispy. Remove the guanciale from the pan and set aside, leaving the rendered fat in the pan.
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, whole egg, grated Pecorino Romano cheese, and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper until well combined.
Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain it quickly and add it to the pan with the rendered guanciale fat. Toss to coat the spaghetti in the fat.
Remove the pan from the heat. Immediately pour the egg and cheese mixture over the hot spaghetti, tossing constantly and quickly to create a creamy sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the reserved pasta water until it reaches the desired consistency.
Add the crispy guanciale back to the pan and toss to combine.
Serve immediately, garnished with additional grated Pecorino Romano cheese and freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!
Excellent! The carbonara turned out wonderfully. The key is definitely to work quickly as the recipe suggests. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente.
A good, solid carbonara. It was a little bland, so I added extra black pepper and some parmesan cheese. Otherwise, followed the recipe exactly and it was a decent weeknight meal.
