Like some others, I thought carbonara as soon as I looked at this thread. I make it (for two people) with just less than half a packet of linguine. You can use spaghetti or tagliatelli too, but linguine is my favourite.
Put the pasta on to boil and fry the pancetta until beginning to go crispy round the edges. (is it diced or in strips? if in strips, cut up before frying) It is indeed fatty but that's the best thing about it. Fat = flavour.
Meanwhile, mix three eggs, some black pepper, and a generous amount of pecorino (or parmesan, but I prefer pecorino and it's cheaper anyway) in a jug and set aside. You don't need salt - the pecorino and pancetta are both plenty salty.
After you've drained the pasta, return it to the pan, off the heat, and stir through the pancetta and any fat in the pan. Then gently stir through the egg and cheese mixture. The heat of the pasta cooks the egg just enough (which is why you don't want to go mad with the stirring - you'll make it get cooler).
The reason you don't want to have the pan on a hob at this point is that cooking it further will turn your lovely carbonara into pasta with scrambled eggs.
It's one of my favourite meals - so simple, just four main ingredients, very quick to make, absolutely delicious and very comforting too.