A very simple italian pasta dish that requires only three ingredients, but, when done properly tastes heavenly. Read about the interesting origin of the dish here.

Ingredients (for 2):

250 g Rigatoni (or any other pasta)
200 g italian Bacon (e.g. Guanciale, Pancetta or Lardo)
80 g grated Pecorino romano, finely grated
Coarse black pepper

Preparation:

Set up a pot of salted water for boiling. Make sure to use less salt as usual, because the bacon will add a lot of salt to the dish by itself. Cut the bacon into small strips and if applicable, finely grate your cheese.

In a large pan without any oil and on medium low heat, cook the bacon strips carefully until they render their fat, stirring often. Once the fat begins rendering, begin cooking the noodles.

Continue frying the bacon slowly until the noodles are al dente. Then discard about 50% of the rendered bacon fat (you can use this for other dishes). Using a sieve or a slotted spoon, add the pasta to the pan, directly from the pot and add half a ladle of cooking water. Mix thoroughly.

Turn off the heat and add the grated cheese (reserving a little for garnish), add pepper to taste and mix again for 2-3 minutes, adding little amounts pasta water as needed until you reach a rich, starchy creaminess.

Season with a little more freshly ground black pepper and serve.