Mix 3 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg in a small bowl with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan and 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano. Stir to combine, then set it aside.

Cut 3 ounces guanciale into a small dice and put it into a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes. The fat should be rendered and the meat should begin to crisp, but not too much. Using a slotted spoon, remove the guanciale to another small bowl and set it aside. Keep the fat in the pan.

Fill a medium-sized, heavy bottomed pot with salted water and bring it to a boil. Add 8 ounces rigatoni and cook it for 7 minutes. It should be very al dente, i.e. hardly cooked at all. 

Meanwhile, put the pan with the fat over medium heat once more and add 1 teaspoon black pepper to bloom.

When the pasta is hardly cooked, use a spider strainer to move the pasta from the pot to the pan along with 1/2 cup pasta water. Bring the water with the pasta to a simmer, stirring it occasionally, until it’s mostly absorbed.

Meanwhile, whisk 1 cup pasta water into the eggy-cheese mixture. Then pour the eggy-cheesy-pasta-water into the pan with the pasta, reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue to cook, stirring frequently. The liquid should never boil, but keep it going hot, adding pasta water as needed, until the pasta is properly al dente. This may take 10-15 minutes, but surely you’ve opened a bottle of wine and have music playing.

When the pasta is ready, stir the reserved guanciale into it. Then divide it between two pasta bowls.

Serve immediately.

Next Day

As a matter of principle, carbonara should be eaten straight off the stovetop while hot, and never portioned and saved for the next day. But if you happen to have a boyfriend who can’t eat gluten, who’s out with his friends doing something foolish, and you’re home alone indulging in carbohydrates, cured ham, and whatever television program he doesn’t care for, then go ahead and keep a portion for the next day.

But use it in a bastardized pasta e piselli:

Heat 2 cups chicken broth in a medium-sized pot. When it comes to a boil, add 1/2 cup frozen peas and the leftover carbonara. By the time it comes back to a boil, the peas and the pasta will be heated through.

Serve immediately.