This recipe is Roman and very simple, but classic!!  It's like a sister recipe to cacio e pepe and carbonara, sans the egg component and it's traditionally made with spaghetti or rigatoni. Since pecorino romano cheese and guanciale are both very salty, there's an exception here and you do not need to salt the pasta water.

If you don't live near an Italian market or can't find guanciale, you could try using cubed pancetta or even thick cut bacon as a substitute.

Every year around Christmas time, my grade school would host a weekend holiday shopping boutique in the gymnasium. Card tables set up row by row with folks from my hometown selling theee most random stuff. I went with my mom every year - started off helping her sell pumpkin pies at the bake sale table and then at a certain point we just attended as guests. However, I never went to shop - I went for the chicken casserole that was served out of the lunchroom every year.

This stuff is pure magic. Not the prettiest, I'll admit. But it's damn good. Comfort scooped into a bowl and topped with love that is crunchy cornflake cereal and melted margarin.