A dish that has been part of the history of Italian culinary culture since ancient times. This is what one is immediately led to think about when talking about pasta alla carbonara.
On the other hand, the history of this dish points to something very different — a relatively recent recipe, born in the years following World War II, in renaissance Italy, when the country was filled with great enthusiasm, a desire to grow, to feel good, even at the table, after dark years of hardship and hunger. It is a recipe without a singular author, with a precise date and place of origin. It could be described as a collective (and democratic) recipe.
The tradition of preparing pasta with eggs and cheese, typical of central Italy, especially Lazio and Campania, seems to have inspired the creation of carbonara.
The version closest to our concept emerged in the late 1970s, when raw eggs (later only the yolks) were used, the cheese was either pecorino or a mixture of pecorino and Parmesan, and guanciale became the preferred cured meat for this extraordinary dish. Until the late 1990s, the recipe often included some cream to make the sauce creamier.
The result is a democratic dish, allowing the cook the freedom to enjoy the basics without betraying the spirit of this incredible dish. Variations include choosing between short or long pasta, pork cheek (guanciale) or bacon, and among cheeses like pecorino, seasoned Parmesan, or a combination of both. Eggs can be whole or a mix of whole eggs and yolks. As for the preparation, eggs are beaten together with some cheese and a dash of pasta cooking water.
