FOOD

CARBONARA

1. What is carbonara ?

Carbonara is an Italian pasta dish from Rome made with egg, hard

cheese, bacon, and black pepper. The dish arrived at its modern form, with
its current name, in the middle of the 20th century. The cheese is
usually Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a combination of the
two.In Italy, carbonara is every student’s staple food: when you are in
university, you always have spaghetti, eggs, and cheese in your cupboard.
The egg must embrace the pasta without getting sticky and make it dry.

There are many theories for the origin of the name carbonara,

which is likely more recent than the dish itself. Since the name is derived
from carbonaro (the Italian word for 'charcoal burner'), some believe the
dish was first made as a hearty meal for Italian charcoal workers.

2. Who invented carbonara ?

. Born in 1921, Renato Gualandi started early to work as a delivery

boy for one of Bologna’s best known butchers. Aged 18, he won his first
culinary price in Catania, Sicily. Towards the end of the Second World
War, he cooked both in Bologna, at Baglioni’s, and Imola, at the Albergo
Grand’Italia: it was in this period, Gualandi says, that he created
carbonara.

It was 1944 and Italy was still torn by the war. In those months,
Gualandi had been working in Riccione, a seaside town on the Riviera
Romagnola, When Riccione was freed, the Allied decided to celebrate
with a banquet: Gualandi was put in charge of it.

. Gualandi had to put together something tasty, but only with what
was available in town, Gualandi admitted he wanted to create something
new, that could bring together Italian and Anglo-Saxon cuisine; with a bit
of help from Slovenian culinary tradition, he concocted a sauce for
spaghetti made of bacon, cream, processed cheese and dried egg
yolk,topped with a sprinkle of freshly ground pepper. Needless to say,
Gualandi’s dish was a success.
3. What are the ingredients and how to make it ?

a) Ingredients :

 8 ounces spaghetti
 2 large eggs
 ½ cup freshly grated parmesan
 4 slices bacon, diced
 4 cloves garlic, minced
 Salt and black pepper
 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

b) Directions :

 In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according

to package instructions, reserve ½ cup water and drain well
 In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and parmesan, set
aside
 Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and
cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes, reserve
excess fat
 Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute, reduce heat to
low
 Working quickly, stir in pasta and egg mixture, and gently
toss to combine, season it with salt and pepper, to taste.
Add reserved pasta water, one tablespoon at a time, until
desired consistency is reached.
 Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if you want
Sources :

https://www.toscanadivino.com/who-invented-carbonara/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonara
https://damndelicious.net/2014/03/29/spaghetti-carbonara/