Cookbook:Spaghetti alla carbonara

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Cookbook | Recipes | Pasta | Cuisine of Italy

Spaghetti alla carbonara
Spaghetti alla Carbonara.jpg
Category: Pasta recipes
Servings: 6
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Spaghetti alla carbonara is an Italian pasta dish based on eggs, pecorino romano, guanciale, and black pepper. It was created in the middle of the 20th century.[1]

The recipes vary, though all agree that cheese (parmesan, pecorino, or a combination), egg yolks (or whole eggs), cured fatty pork, and black pepper are basic. 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.[1][2][3] Guanciale is the most traditional meat, but pancetta is also used.[4][5] In the US, it is often made with American bacon.

Cream is not common in Italian recipes, but is used in the United States[6][7], France, the United Kingdom[8], Australia[9] and Russia (especially in Moscow). Other Anglo/Franco variations on carbonara may include peas, broccoli or other vegetables added for colour.[7] Yet another American version includes mushrooms. Many of these preparations have more sauce than the Italian versions.[10]

In all versions of the recipe, the eggs are added to the sauce raw, and cook (coagulate) with the heat of the pasta itself.

[edit] 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. This theory gave rise to the term "coal miner's spaghetti," which is used to refer to spaghetti alla carbonara in parts of the United States. Others say that it was originally made over charcoal grills, or that it was made with squid ink, giving it the color of carbon. It has even been suggested that it was created by, or as a tribute to, the Carbonari ("charcoalmen"), a secret society prominent in the unification of Italy.[11]

The dish is not present in Ada Boni's 1927 classic La Cucina Romana, and is unrecorded before the Second World War. It was first recorded after the war as a Roman dish, when many Italians were eating eggs and bacon supplied by troops from the United States, and the name may be from a Rome restaurant called Carbonara.[12]

The recipe is in Elizabeth David's 1954 cookbook published in Great Britain.[13] The dish became popular among American troops stationed in Italy; upon their return home, they popularized spaghetti alla carbonara in North America.

[edit] Ingredients

[edit] Utensils

  • large pot
  • large skillet
  • bowl
  • measuring cups and spoons
  • fork

[edit] Preparation

  1. Dice the pancetta into small pieces (1 inch [2.5cm] will do).
  2. The Pot: Bring a big pot of water to a boil and add salt when it begins to simmer.
  3. The Pot: Cook the spaghetti until it is al dente and drain it, reserving ½ cup of water.
  4. The Skillet: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the pancetta and cook for about 10 minutes over a low flame until the pancetta has rendered most of its fat but is still chewy and barely browned.
  5. The Bowl: In a bowl, slowly whisk about ½ cup of the pasta water into the egg yolks, using a fork. Add the Parmesan cheese and pepper. Mix with a fork.
  6. The Skillet: Transfer the spaghetti immediately to the skillet with the pancetta. Toss it and turn off the heat. Add the egg mixture to the skillet with the pasta and toss all the ingredients to coat the pasta. Taste the pasta and add salt and black pepper, if necessary.

[edit] Beverages

Ideally this dish is served with a red wine (Merlot, Chianti, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo), allowed to decant for several hours, and served at 65°F (18°C).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ↑ a b Alberini, Massimo, Giorgio Mistretta (1984). Guida all'Italia gastronomica. Touring Club Italiano.
  2. ↑ Gossetti Della Salda, Anna (1965). Le ricette regionali italiane. Milan: Solares.
  3. ↑ Accademia Italiana della Cucina, Ricettario nazionale delle cucine regionali italiane
  4. ↑ Luigi Carnacina, Luigi Veronelli, La cucina rustica regionale (2. Italia Centrale), Rizzoli, 1977 republication of La Buona Vera Cucina Italiana, 1966.
  5. ↑ Vincenzo Buonassisi, Il Nuovo Codice della Pasta, Rizzoli, 1985.
  6. ↑ Herbst, Sharone Tyler; Ron Herbst (2007). alla Carbonara. The New Food Lover's Companion, Fourth Edition. Barron's Educational Series. ISBN 0-7641-3577-5.
  7. ↑ a b Labensky, Sarah R, Alan M. House (2003). On Cooking, Third Edition: Techniques from expert chefs. Pearson Education, Inc.. ISBN 0-1304-5241-6.
  8. ↑ Wright, Jeni (2006, 2007). Italy's 500 Best-Ever Recipes. London: Hermes House, Anness Publishing. ISBN 0-681-46033-4.
  9. ↑ Fettucine Carbonara. Better Homes and Gardens. Yahoo!7 Food.
  10. ↑ Perry, Neil, Earl Carter, Sue Fairlie-Cuninghame (2006). The Food I Love: Beautiful, Simple Food to Cook at Home. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780743292450.
  11. ↑ Mariani, Galina, Galina Mariani, Laura Tedeschi (2000). The Italian-American cookbook: a feast of food from a great American cooking tradition. Harvard Common, 140-41. ISBN 9781558321663.
  12. ↑ Davidson, Alan (1999). Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford UP. ISBN 0-19-211579-0.
  13. ↑ David, Elizabeth (1954). Italian Food. Great Britain: Macdonald.
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