Carbonara
Pasta alla carbonara (usually spaghetti, but occasionally linguine or bucatini) is an Italian pasta dish based on eggs, parmigiano, pancetta or guanciale, and black pepper. It is a relatively recently invented dish.[1]
The origin of the name is definitive; a 'carbonaro' is a charcoal-burner in Italian, but the connection is unclear. The dish may have been popular among charcoal makers working in the Apennine Mountains; or perhaps it is called carbonara simply because of the specks of black pepper it is seasoned with.
Recipes vary. All agree that cheese (parmesan, pecorino, or a combination), egg yolks (or whole eggs), and cured fatty pork (guanciale usually preferred to pancetta) are basic. Onion is very common.[citation needed] The pork is fried in fat (olive oil or lard); a mixture of eggs, cheese, and butter or olive oil is combined with the hot pasta, cooking the eggs; the pork is then added to the pasta.[2][3][4] Guanciale is the most usual meat, but pancetta is also used.[5][6] Cream is not used in most Italian recipes, but is used frequently in the United States.
As with most Italian pasta dishes, there is relatively little sauce: the eggs and cheese need only form a coating on the noodles, with pieces of pancetta scattered among them.
The Italian-American carbonara recipe is made from cream,[7][8] eggs, parmesan cheese (sometimes with pecorino romano cheese), and pancetta (or some other type of bacon). Some American recipes add salt, pepper (white or black), and/or garlic to taste; with peas added for color.[8] Yet another American version includes mushrooms. Most of these preparations have more sauce than the Italian versions, and have more in common with a cream sauce such as that incorporated into Fettuccine Alfredo.
In all versions of the recipe, the eggs are added to the sauce raw, and cook with the heat of the pasta itself.
Origin and history
Like most recipes, the origins of the dish are obscure, and there are many legends about it. As the name is derived from the Italian word for charcoal, some believe that the dish was first made as a hearty meal for Italian charcoal workers. Others say that it was originally made over charcoal grills. Still others suggest that it is so named because the specks of bacon and pepper in the pasta look like bits of charcoal. It has even been suggested that it was created by the Carbonari ("charcoalmen"), an Italian secret society.
The dish was obscure before the Second World War, and it is not present in Ada Boni's classic book La Cucina Romana, which was published in 1927. It is thought to have originated in the hills outside Rome, not in the city itself. Its popularity began after the Second World War, when many Italians were eating eggs and bacon supplied by troops from the United States. It also became popular among American troops stationed in Italy; upon their return home, they popularized spaghetti alla carbonara in North America.
Notes
- ^ Massimo Alberini and Giorgio Mistretta, Guida all'Italia gastronomica, Touring Club Italiano, 1984, p. 286
- ^ Alberini, op.cit.
- ^ Gossetti Della Salda, Anna. Le ricette regionali italiane. Solares, Milan. 1965.
- ^ Accademia Italiana della Cucina, Ricettario nazionale delle cucine regionali italiane
- ^ Luigi Carnacina, Luigi Veronelli, La cucina rustica regionale (2. Italia Centrale), Rizzoli, 1977 republication of La Buona Vera Cucina Italiana, 1966.
- ^ Vincenzo Buanassisi, Il Nuovo Codice della Pasta, Rizzoli, 1985.
- ^ Herbst, Sharon Tyler. Food Lover's Companion, Third Edition: Comprehensive Definitions of nearly 6000 food, drink, and culinary terms. Barron's Educational Series. 2001
- ^ a b Labensky, Sarah R. & Alan M. House. On Cooking, Third Edition: Techniques from expert chefs. Pearson Education, Inc. 2003.
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