I delved into Carbonara pasta when Sofia told me that it was her favorite dish and that she could eat it just about every day and there would really be nothing wrong. Ok, it’s true, children love to eat Pate, but on the other hand, it must be admitted that Carbonara is very special. It is a recipe born after World War II, partly American, partly Neapolitan, partly Abruzzo, and only after many years did it become a traditional Roman recipe.
A Bit of History
It is said that during World War II, American soldiers tasted the Abruzzo pasta “cacio e ova”, which was prepared by carbonai (Carbonari in the Roman dialect) in the area of L’a Amucuile and the name “carbonara” could also have been born from here. From there, the addition of bacon came almost by itself, also due to the area where the recipe was made and possibly smoked pancetta, the famous bacon imported directly from the United States. But there are also those who attribute the birth of carbonara to Naples.
The period is always the same, we are in 1944. American soldiers liked the” street food ” served at the stalls in Naples, they liked the typical pizza and quick-cooked spaghetti seasoned with cheese and pepper. It seems that one day an American soldier, to whom this plate of spaghetti seemed insignificant, added the so-called “meal K”, consisting of powdered eggs, bacon and liquid cream. A recipe that we are disgusted with today, but which could only be the ancestor of our beloved ancestor.
From this unbalanced and very American recipe, the Neapolitans worked on the ingredients and the carbonara was created. Soon the recipe spread to Rome, who took it as his own, adopted it for all intents and purposes and made it a “myth”.
Secrets for good Carbonara
The key are the ingredients that must be of really high quality, because Carbonara is very simple in its own way. Use bacon cut into centimeter cubes, with 80% fat and 20% lean meat. Use part of the oil that comes out after frying the bacon in the pan, in the process of finishing the dish, and another trick is pepper: it should be present to a greater extent because Carbonara requires a touch of spiciness.
Ingredients for two people
180 g spaghetti
120 g bacon
1 whole egg + 1 yolk
125 g grated cheese
Coarse salt
10 g freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Fry the bacon in olive oil (you can also add a touch of onion to it, which must be finely chopped and be very careful not to fry it too much, it must not be burnt!). When the spaghetti is cooked (strictly stick to the minutage on the box and not a second more), throw them into a container with beaten eggs. Add all other ingredients except the cheese and mix and cover for about three minutes.
If possible, mix without utensils, only by moving the container. Finally, add the grated cheese. The key is that the moment the pasta touches the eggs, the fire is turned off… otherwise you get a lump with eggs that is nowhere to go …
