Spaghetti alla carbonara

I adore carbonara, and I'm quite picky about it. I despise versions with cream in them, which are cloyingly rich. Yuck! This version is a really good dish to make when you're feeling poor and hungry, because it's incredibly filling and tastes delicious too. The recipe is a variant on one my parents used to make when I was little. As far as I know, they never monkeyed about with wine or Parmesan, but I bet they'd like it if they did.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
3/4 to 1 cup grated cheese of your choice (I like a mixture of cheddar and Parmesan)
4 slices bacon
3 tablespoons white wine (optional)
1/2 lb whole wheat spaghetti (or white spaghetti)
1 tablespoon minced parsley
salt
pepper

Cut the bacon into small pieces and cook it in its own fat in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat until it's crisp. Deglaze the pan with white wine and let it simmer until reduced. (Skip this step if you don't have wine, it'll still taste good.)

Boil water in a large pot, and when it's boiling, stir in 1 tablespoon of salt. Pasta water should be salty like the sea--it's the best way to make the pasta taste good without over-salting the sauce. Add the spaghetti, and cook according to package directions. (I usually take it out 1 minute before it says you should, because I like pasta with quite a bite to it.)

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, parsley and cheese together with a fork, and set aside.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Tip the egg and bacon mixtures into the pot and toss with the spaghetti--the egg will cook and the cheese will melt from the heat of the pasta. Season with a few generous grinds of pepper.