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Pasta alla carbonara: the uncertain origin of the typical Roman dish
Can one visit Rome without tasting real spaghetti alla carbonara?
A beloved and world-renowned pasta dish, Rome's signature dish has an unclear origin. The recipe certainly originates after World War II, with the American allied troops playing a leading role.
Two versions place the first 'carbonara' in Rome and Naples. Who has this original primacy? Will it have happened in the Eternal City or at the foot of Vesuvius? In any case, a delicious and indispensable first course.
Pasta alla 'carbonara': the uncertain origin of the typical Roman dish
Can one visit Rome without tasting real spaghetti alla carbonara? A beloved and world-renowned pasta dish, Rome's signature dish has an unclear origin. The recipe certainly originates after World War II, with the American allied troops playing a leading role. Two versions place the first 'carbonara' in Rome and Naples. Who has this original primacy? In any case, a delicious and indispensable first course.
The birth of pasta alla carbonara
We are in Rome in 1944, and U.S. soldiers of the Allied troops taste 'cacio e ova' pasta, a pasta topped with the typical cheese and eggs, a traditional dish of the coal miners, in Roman dialect the 'carbonari'.
The birth of pasta carbonara
The combination of cacio and eggs is found in the eating habits of the coal miners of Latium and Abruzzo, who used these very two ingredients for pasturing while guarding the charcoal pile. A poor dish but rich in flavor and protein.
The addition of bacon
The 'American' intervention is in the addition of guanciale, which replaces smoked bacon, the famous bacon, a common ingredient in North American cuisine.
Origin of 'carbonara': the second theory
A second hypothesis places the birth of 'carbonara' in Naples in the same postwar period, in 1944/45. American troops loved the food served on street stalls in Naples, including the typical pizzaa portafoglio and spaghetti cooked quickly topped with cacio e pepe.
The origin of 'carbonara': the second theory
According to this theory, an American soldier who found the spaghetti dish particularly ''poor'' would have added a mixture consisting of powdered eggs, bacon and liquid cream to it.
The origin of carbonara: the second theory
From this cue, the Neapolitans would work on the recipe, eventually transforming carbonara into the dish we know today. Later the recipe spread to Rome, where it was a great success.
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