(warning, contains relatively raw eggs)

Here?s a great recipe straight out of the Eternal City. You'll be surprised to see that it does not contain cream - this is the original way it is supposed to be. Cream was an American addition.

Ingredients:
150g of ?pancetta? (bacon), cut into small cubes.
A touch of extra virgin olive oil.
2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks
grated Pecorino cheese (Parmigiano will do too ? it?s much easier to find, that?s for sure!)
Plenty of black pepper (the kind you have to grind)

Put a pot with water on the stove, naturally.

Break the eggs and put the eggs & egg yokes into a bowl.

Add the grated cheese to taste, and the fresh ground black pepper, mixing quickly (and completely) with a fork.

Stir it until it?s nice and creamy.

Cook the pancetta in a frying pan with a little bit of oil, letting it ?sweat?.

When it?s cooked, turn off the burner and let it wait.

When the water boils, throw in the pasta.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it but not completely ? keep just a little bit of the water ? not much.

Put the pasta into the pan with the pancetta and throw in the egg/pepper/cheese mixture, stirring quickly. The eggs will coagulate a little bit but don?t? let it happen too much ? you want them to stay relatively creamy. To taste, add some more grated cheese and fresh ground pepper.

Enjoy!