Who invented Carbonara? How to cook pasta Carbonara like an Italian. Around the world, Italian cuisine is among the most loved and valued and being Italian and cooking every day recipes from my country, I know it well!
From pasta to pizza, from homemade recipes such as lasagna and tortellini to haute cuisine, Italian Cuisine is really popular and is increasing international recognition.
Indeed, the love and passion for Italian food around the world are exemplified by the many Italian restaurants and blogs, with an increasing number of people who try to cook Italian food, although often with poor results.
But here, you will learn something very important about Italian culture and heritage: who invented Carbonara and how to cook pasta Carbonara like a real Italian! But first, let me introduce myself.
An Italian girl with a passion for Italian food and cooking
Who am I and what is my purpose? My name is Cristina Baldi and I am a kindergarten teacher from Italy. But children are not my only passion. In fact, also I am into Italian food and cooking!
“Preparing a good dish, is a gift for the friend you have invited to your table… in the dish enter the colors, scents, memories of a journey, imagination, and creativity… good food is a good starting point to discover places, customs, populations, similarities, and diversity. A recipe reminds you of people you have met in faraway places.”
Anonymous
My story
I live in Northern Italy, not far from Milan and traveling abroad and surfing the Internet and crossing the Metaverse, I realized how much the Italian cuisine outside the borders of our beautiful country, is distorted.
For decades, Italians have been accustomed to seeing their recipes adapted to the tastes of local peoples: yet the line between revisiting, creating “hybrid recipes”, and counterfeiting, is very thin.
In the light of, my purpose is to share with you all my passion for authentic Italian cuisine! So, I created a website, mammamiachebuono.com, where I am introducing people to the real flavor of traditional Italian food through classic recipes.
Therefore, if you are willing to discover authentic Italian cuisine, follow me and you will discover genuine traditional and classic Italian food!
Beyond my website, you can also follow me on my Facebook and Instagram pages and Mamma mia che buono YouTube channel.
Knowing the love of foreigners for Italian food, I also created a YouTube mamma mia kak vkusno Russian channel and an Instagram page in the Russian language, mamma mia kak vkusno, with my dear friend Marina Shalagaeva, who is originally from this country.
Therefore, follow us if you are from Russia and if you love the possibility of learning Italian recipes and culture in Russian language, if you are a native of this country!
Keep reading if you wish to learn how to cook pasta Carbonara like an Italian.
All the recipes you will find are a treasure of knowledge that has been passed on to me from my Italian mother Lilli, and my grandmother Gina.
Throughout the past 20 years, I enriched my cooking experience by discovering and learning new recipes and attending different cooking courses in prestigious Italian schools.
Visiting my website mammamiachebuono.com you will find easy and quick recipes which, if you follow them step by step, will allow you to cook real and wonderful dishes of the Italian tradition!
Foreigners love Italian food but often do not know the authentic one
Unfortunately, many foreigners ignore authentic Italian food, especially, how to cook pasta Carbonara like an Italian.
One out of every three dishes prepared outside Italy is fake; some restaurants offer their customers specialties that do not exist in our country such as “Fettuccine Alfredo” or “Chicken Parmigiana”.
If you have ever been to an Italian restaurant in the United States, you know what I mean. You can also check this funny fact on restaurants menus using LCN App.
Words, colors, references, names, and recipes that recall Italy are improperly used for dishes that have nothing to do with our genuine and traditional gastronomy.
In addition, many dishes or culinary habits are misunderstood and manipulated by self-styled gastronomic experts, chefs, or ladies of distant Italian origins completely unknown to us, who claim to spread authentic Italian cuisine.
Indeed, often TV, books, and magazines contribute spreading and feeding several false myths and caricatures of dishes of the Italian tradition of which foreigners are firmly convinced.
Pasta Carbonara is the most imitated and mistaken Italian dish
We now come to the heart of our discussion: how to cook pasta Carbonara like an Italian.
When it comes to Italian cuisine abroad, among the most replicated dishes is the “Carbonara”: one of the most cooked and refashioned specialties ever. If the authentic version includes eggs, Pecorino Romano cheese and guanciale, abroad it has been unduly enriched with cream, onion, bacon, and parsley.
In Italy, it is such an untouchable dish that Roman people have written a funny ’10 Commandments of Carbonara.
How to cook pasta Carbonara like an Italian: 10 rules in Roman dialect
- Usa sempre er guanciale. Si volevamo er bacon annavamo in America. (Always use guanciale. If we wanted bacon we would go to America).
- Niente parmigiano, solo pecorino. Chi dice metà e metà c’ha quarcosa da nasconne. (No parmesan, only pecorino. Those who say half and half have something to hide).
- Nun coce l’ovo. Mejo n’infezione che ‘na frittata. (Don’t cook the egg. Better an infection than an omelet).
- Niente ajo e niente cipolla, nun stai a fa er ragù (No garlic and no onion, you’re not making meat sauce).
- Nè ojo, nè buro, nè strutto. Hai da fa’ spurgá er guanciale. (No oil, no butter, no lard. The guanciale must cook in its fat).
- Niente peperoncino. In Calabria ce vai st’estate. (No chili peppers. You’re going to Calabria – a Southern region of Italy – this summer, not now).
- Non usare altre spezie al di fuori der pepe. Si nun te sta bene vai a cena dall’indiano. (Don’t use any spices other than black pepper. If it doesn’t suit you, go to an Indian restaurant).
- Chi mette ‘a panna dovrebbe annà in galera. (People who put cream should go to jail).
- Nun dì mai ‘carbonara’ e ‘vegana’ nella stessa frase. (Never say ‘carbonara’ and ‘vegan’ in the same sentence).
- Tonnarelli, spaghetti, bucatini, rigatoni. Va bene tutto, basta che non fai scoce ‘a pasta. (Tonnarelli, spaghetti, bucatini, rigatoni. Anything goes, as long as you don’t overcook the pasta).
So, who invented Carbonara? How to cook pasta Carbonara like an Italian
Here you will find the real recipe for Pasta Carbonara!
The story of Carbonara
“Spaghetti Carbonara” or simply “Carbonara” is a typical first course of Roman cuisine, appreciated all over the world! A poor dish, but with an incredible taste. Based on one of the most reliable hypotheses, “Carbonara” was born in 1944, during the Days of Liberation, from ingredients available to American soldiers put together by a Roman chef.
This recipe has been preserved since then. Follow this “Carbonara Recipe” step-by-step and you will prepare a perfect Pasta Carbonara at home! Thanks to my tips and secrets, you will have a creamy and delicious Carbonara in just 15 minutes and a few moves. So, let’s see how to cook pasta Carbonara like an Italian!
The Authentic Recipe for Pasta Carbonara
Recipe Difficulty Level: Easy
Servings: 4
Ingredients for pasta Carbonara:
- 400 gr of spaghetti (or rigatoni)
- 4 egg yolks + 2 eggs (or 6 egg yolks)
- 200 gr of guanciale
- 100 gr of pecorino
- Black pepper
How to cook pasta Carbonara like an Italian: method
- Firstly, boil the water in a big pot.
- After that, cut 200 g. of guanciale into cubes or strips and cook it in a pan without oil until the fat will be transparent and the rest crunchy. Put it apart.
- Afterward, put 1 or 2 spoons of salt in the boiling water, then put the pasta, while you finish preparing the sauce.
- In a big bowl, put 100 g of grated pecorino, and add t2 eggs and 4 egg yolks.
- Add black pepper.
- Mix it well with a hand whisk and keep mixing until you do not obtain a cream.
- Drain pasta when “al dente” and pour it into the pan with the guanciale; cook for 30 seconds over medium heat.
- Immediately after, put it in the bowl with the eggs and pecorino, mix it, and serve it.
Suggestion:
Do not put the sauce in the hot pot otherwise, you risk doing a frittata!
Enjoy your meal! Buon appetito!
The Bottom Line
Pasta Carbonara is an iconic and important dish for Italians. For this reason, it is essential to follow the original recipe to maintain its authentic taste and respect the country’s culinary tradition.
Repurposing that has nothing to do with the tradition and culture of Italy can alter the taste and history of this dish.
However, its original recipe clearly has a connection to America, so it is right to spread it in the right way.
Remember that the key for perfect pasta Carbonara is creaminess, the result of the balanced combination of the original ingredients.
I hope you have now learned how to cook pasta Carbonara like an Italian! You can visit my channels to discover the whole tradition of the magnificent original Italian cuisine!
Cristina Baldi
