Even for this dish, among the most loved by us Italians (and not only), a date has been defined to remember it: April 6 "Carbonara day" which is celebrated throughout Italy with a social marathon characterized by the hashtags #CarbonaraDay and #CarbonaraSharing .
And now let's see where this tasty dish originates from: someone has ventured the hypothesis, that it may have been the nourishment of the patriots of the Carbonari motions (eggs and bacon) but the truth is that eggs and lard appear in recipe books ancient since the end of 1700. There is still no mention of carbonara, however, if not after the war. In fact it is said that the first recipe was published in 1952 in a Chicago restaurant guide and we have to wait 2 years for its publication in Italian in 1954 in the renowned magazine “La cucina italiana”. A little different from what we know today though: the ingredients? spaghetti, egg, bacon, gruyere cheese and garlic.
Finally, the recipe most similar to the one we know today, with the introduction of bacon instead of pancetta, is found in Luigi Carnacina's recipe book "La grande cucina" from 1960.
Cream yes or no?
I know maybe you are widening your eyes right now but even Gualtiero Marchesi recommended a quarter of a liter for 400 grams of spaghetti! In later versions all these "strange" ingredients will be gradually eliminated until they settle on a constant, the three classic ingredients that we all know today: eggs, pecorino and bacon with the more or less abundant addition of pepper.
Eggs and bacon?
Another constant in the history of this recipe are certainly the Americans: doesn't this combination of eggs and bacon remind you of the classic American breakfast, eggs and bacon? There are several hypotheses in this regard, but the story of Renato Gualandi prevails over all. This young chef of Bolognese origin was hired on 22 September 1944 to prepare a lunch for the meeting between the British Eighth Army and the American Fifth Army in the newly liberated Riccione. Improvising with the ingredients that the troops had at their disposal, he completely unconsciously created this dish that conquered the palates of the Americans. Later he became cook of the allied troops in Rome and in this way the fame of carbonara spread in the capital. We cannot know how true this story is and some of the more purists might turn up their noses but we can agree on one thing: the typical Italian ingenuity has meant that this dish loved by everyone was born.
Bacon or bacon?
First of all, we underline that these are two different cuts: the bacon it is obtained from the ventral part of the pig and its flavor is sweet and tending towards savory, with spicy aromas; while the guanciale derives from the processing of the cheek and part of the neck: it is a more precious cut and is flavored with salt and pepper and then matured, therefore it has a more delicate flavor. We are of the opinion that the bacon is better in carbonara.
However, if you are in a hurry and still want to enjoy this dish in the simplest and fastest way possible, here is ours bacon and egg prepared with the traditional recipe. Also of this we expect the photo of your dish, please!
