What she’d tell you
No cream. None. The sauce is egg, cheese and the water the pasta cooked in, and if you take the pan off the heat before the eggs go anywhere near it, you will get it right the first time.
Written for 4. Change that in the app and the amounts follow.
Tick things off as you get them ready.
Cut the pancetta into short thick batons.
Whisk the whole eggs and the extra yolks in a large bowl with the grated parmesan and plenty of black pepper.
Boil the spaghetti in well-salted water to the packet time.
Meanwhile fry the pancetta in a dry pan over medium-high heat for 4–5 minutes until golden. It needs no oil.
Save a cupful of pasta water. Drain the pasta and toss it in the pancetta pan to coat it in the fat.
Tip the pasta and all the fat into the bowl of egg, add 125 ml of the pasta water, and stir hard for a full minute until it turns glossy and clings.
What she’d tell you
No cream. None. The sauce is egg, cheese and the water the pasta cooked in, and if you take the pan off the heat before the eggs go anywhere near it, you will get it right the first time.
guanciale if you can find it (it is the original) or thick streaky bacon
pecorino, which is sharper and more traditional
It does not. Eat it now.