Classic [[Italian]] [[Pasta]] dish # Ingredients for 2 servings - 200g of smoked [[Pancetta]] ^[[[Bacon]] works too. [[Guanciale]] is most authentic but I find it hard to work with, due to the unwieldy amount of fat it renders out], sliced to bite size bits - 250g of [[Spaghetti]] or [[Linguine]], or [[Pasta]] of your choice - A block of [[Grana Padano]] or [[Parmeggiano Reggiano]] [[Cheese]] and grater - [[Black Pepper]] ^[preferably via pepper mill] - 3 [[Egg]]s and 1 [[Egg Yolk]] - 3 cloves of diced [[Garlic]] ^[only if you're not italian] # Steps 1. Cook [[Pasta]] according to instructions. Try to time it such that [[Pasta]] is ready 10 minutes after start of step 2 2. Heat [[Pork]] on medium/low pan with lid to render fat, stirring occasionally. Add [[Garlic]] (if using) after some fat has been rendered out. Should take about 10 minutes to cook 3. Meanwhile lightly beat [[Egg]]s and [[Egg Yolk]] in bowl. Grate as much [[Cheese]] as you can into bowl 4. Add copious amounts of [[Black Pepper]] to bowl and beat contents together until mostly homogenous ## Coming together Making the sauce together is very delicate. The general method is as follows: 1. As soon as pasta is ready, [[Pork]] should be well cooked and rendered. Turn off all heat and transfer pasta to pan, along with a splash of pasta water. Mix contents of pan 2. Take pan off hob. Add tiny bit of egg mixture to pan and stir. If egg scrambles, pan is too hot so wait 10 seconds and try again. If egg doesn't look to be scrambling, add bowl contents to pan and stir vigorously. > [!info] Tempering > Step 2 here is very hard to do first try. I suggest spooning a bit of hot pasta water into your egg mixture and mixing it in, and repeating this 3-4 times before attempting step 2. Should make it harder to scramble