Giada Valenti: From Venice With Love: Happy Pasta alla Carbonara day : recipe and history

Happy National Pasta alla Carbonara Day

One of many people favorite pasta, and surely one of mine too.

Carbonara: History

Carbonara is most associated with Rome and the Lazio region, but as with so many Italian dishes, in Italy, its origin provokes much speculation and debate. Some connect it to pasta cacio e uova, a Neapolitan dish of pasta tossed with melted lard, beaten raw eggs, and cheese, as documented in Ippolito Cavalcanti's 1839 Neapolitan cookbook.

Because the name comes from the word carbonaro, “coal burner,” some believe the dish was created as a hearty easy-to-make meal by men working outdoors for long periods.

Others trace it to the Allied liberation of Rome in 1944, with American GIs bringing their daily ration of eggs and bacon to local restaurants to add to the limited Italian menu. Supporting this story is the first written reference to the dish in newspaper La Stampa in 1950, describing it as a dish prized by American servicemen. Shortly after, carbonara, also appears in Elizabeth David’s classic 1954 book Italian Food.

What ever story we want to believe, one thing is sure, it is delicious. The original recipe calls for guanciale, which is pig's cheek, but since its not easily available, we can use bacon instead.

Easy and delicious:

Recipe Servings: 4

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Total Cook Time: 50 Minutes
Difficulty Level: Easy

Ingredients Of Pasta alla Carbonara

1 packet spaghetti
100 g bacon, cut in strips
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
100 g Pecorino Romano or Parmesan - grated
1 Tbsp olive oil
Lots of black pepper - coarsely crushed
Salt to taste
LOVE : according my my Grandmother Maria, an excellent chef, this is a secret ingredient for perfect result. She believed that food feels our emotions so while cooking play your favorite music. You can also listen to mine on Spotify. Just look for Giada Valenti Spotify.

Let's make it :

1.In a large pan or a saucepan, heat the olive oil and fry the bacon till crisp. Set aside.

2.In a mixing bowl, beat the whole eggs and the yolk well. Stir in the grated cheese and set aside.

3.Boil the spaghetti in abundant salty water. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water.

4.In another saucepan, toss the pasta with the egg mixture, bacon and any fat rendered from cooking the bacon, over very low heat.

5.Make sure that the individual strands of pasta are all coated properly with the mixture. Season with salt, add the pasta water, give it a quick toss, and remove right away from the heat.

6.The sauce should have a creamy texture, which will be lost if the pasta remians on the fire for too long.

7.The idea is to cook the egg with the heat of the pasta, and not with the heat of the fire.

8.Serve right away with lots of pepper, freshly crushed in a pepper mill, and more Parmesan if desired.

Many believe that carbonara is a cream sauce. It is not! The creaminess of the sauce comes from eggs and cheese. If you add cream, you'll have different pasta altogether. A good one, I'm sure, but definitely not a carbonara.

Buon appetito,

Giada