At Pirelli's restaurant in Rome, chef Barbara Lynch ate what was, for her, the perfect carbonara: The sauce was bright yellow from fresh eggs, and each rigatoni hid cubes of fatty guanciale. In Boston, where Lynch has five restaurants, she set out to master the dish. Her yolk-heavy recipe is beyond creamy—without cream!—with a heady mix of peppercorns (you can substitute black pepper for all and it's still great). It's unlike any clumpy carbonaras you've had. The tricks? She omits most of the egg whites; their water thins the sauce. Too much cheese overthickens it, so she gradually adds Pecorino while tossing the pasta until she hits the right consistency (the sauce should be loose enough to drag the pasta through). Lynch was right: It's a pasta worth mastering.
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