Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Carbonara Sauce

Spaghetti alla Carbonara is a very popular dish of pasta, cheese, eggs, pork and black pepper that was first seen in the area near Rome. Although the dish has a recent origin, perhaps not much more than 60 years ago, its history is obscure. There are four theories about its creation, none of which can be truly verified.

Supposed Origins of Carbonara

The first one dates Spaghetti alla Carbonara back to the period of charcoal makers who would make charcoal by slowly burning wood in the forests. The black pepper in the recipe is said to represent the flecks of charcoal from their work. Many people disagree with this theory: The job required a man to be away from home for a whole season and, as there were no preservation techniques, eggs would not keep for such a long period.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

The second theory claims that Spaghetti alla Carbonara was invented by a cook bound to another group of "carbonari" or charcoal makers. Except these carbonari were part of secret revolutionary group that struggled against the Austrian occupation of Northern Italy and were influential in the unification of Italy.

The third theory may have some weight and claims the dish originated in 1945 when the American soldiers got to Rome at the end of the Second World War. When they went to lunch into the Roman taverns they wanted lard, fried eggs, bacon and noodles, the typical Chinese spaghetti, which at the time was more famous in America. The Roman cooks of that period were supplied these foods by the troops in the wake of the war, and so fulfilled the demand by serving fried eggs and bacon cooked in lard, along with unseasoned and thus insipid spaghetti. In a long standing tradition of working people and troops alike, the American soldiers mixed all the ingredients together, thus accidentally creating the ancestor of the famous dish.

The last theory dates this dish back to the Neapolitan traditions of Ippolito Cavalcanti, Duke of Buonvicino who in 1837 published the volume "La Cucina Teorico Pratica". A recipe which is very similar to the Carbonara seems to have appeared in the very first editions of this book.

Carbonara Traditional Ingredients

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Like Amatriciana, Spaghetti alla Carbonara is the subject matter of several endless diatribes among fans of cookery. The dispute deals with the kind of fat to be used (pancetta, guanciale or lard?) and above all whether to use whole eggs or just the yolk, to cook the eggs or not, the use of cream and the quality of cheese.

In the recipe of Spaghetti alla Carbonara the egg must not be cooked but just slightly coagulated. The cooking temperature should be from the heat of the cooked pasta to avoid the egg's being overcooked. Thus it is best to add it after turning off the flame and seasoning spaghetti with the sauce, fast mix up and serve hot so to avoid pasta to become cold. The use of cream is controversial, but suggested in many recipes because a small quantity of it prevents the coagulation of egg thus making the dish creamy.

The recommended quantity of eggs ranges from one per serving to one for every two. Many people recommend to use the only the yolk, others suggest yolk plus a portion of the egg white. I personally recommend using egg whites as they are essential to make the sauce creamier, so I think that for 4 people use two eggs or 2 eggs and two yolks.

The pork component is essential to Spaghetti alla Carbonara and I recommend a good smoked bacon. Here in Trentino, where the bacon is smoked at a low temperature (not seasoned) and it is perfect to carry out this dish. Pancetta and guanciale, which are not smoked, can also be used if you can find high quality types. If you cannot get these gastronomic goodies, you will have to make do with standard smoked bacon or good lard, which is easier to find.

The ideal cheese is pecorino romano, even though you can replace it with a good aged parmigiano cheese or other types of aged and spicy pecorino.

Pasta alla carbonara

Ingredients for 4 People

400gs Spaghetti

150gs Smoked bacon, pancetta or lard

30gs Pecorino romano

2 Whole eggs

Salt and pepper

Preparation Cut the bacon into cubes and simmer in a non-stick pan until the fat renders out. Beat the eggs in a bowl and mix it up gently with grated pecorino and plenty of fresh ground pepper. Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water, then put it into a big bowl and season it with the cooked bacon and its fat, then add the eggs/cheese mixture and quickly blend together until pasta is well seasoned. Serve it hot.