The “Spaghetti alla Carbonara” belongs to Italy, like the Pope belongs to the Vatican. Or? To this day it is not really clear who actually invented the pasta classic. There are many stories, but few are valid – and not just one story line leads to the USA.
Many people instinctively place the Carbonara in Rome. But even in Naples people raise their fingers when it comes to the origin of the recipe. What is certain is that carbonara, as it is served today, is a relatively new dish. It was first printed in the three-ingredient version – eggs, pancetta, cheese – in a cookbook in 1955. The pasta dish has also been cooked before, or at least variations of it.
So, if one follows the Neapolitan theory, the carbonara could be a descendant of the dish “Il cuoco galante”. Behind this is, if you will, a slimmed-down version of carbonara, which dates back to 1773 and consists mainly of pasta with eggs. Similar is the dish “Cacio e Uova”, which was also recorded in a cookbook around six decades later. But it was only the third cookbook writer in the group who came closest to today’s carbonara: Francesco Palma. He is said to have added lard and cheese to the dish. But one small essential, apart from the name, was still missing from Palma: Pancetta.
It was only in the post-war period that the fog surrounding carbonara cleared up a little more. In the 1950s she was first mentioned by name in the Turin newspaper “La Stampa”. In a subordinate clause. There is talk of American soldiers who are said to have regularly eaten the food in Rome in previous years. But perhaps not only that. There is also the theory that it was GIs stationed in Rome who brought their daily rations of eggs and bacon to the Italian kitchens – and thus contributed to the invention of carbonara. At least that’s what Marco Guarnaschelli Gotti believes, who wrote this down in his “Grande enciclopedia della gastronomia”.
The story of the chef Renato Gualandi is also circulating. He is said to have been hired by the British and Americans in September 1944 to cook for them at the first official meeting in the recently liberated Riccione in the province of Rimini. “The Americans had fantastic bacon, delicious heavy cream, cheese and powdered egg yolks. I mixed everything together and served this pasta to the generals and officers for dinner. At the last moment I decided to add some black pepper, which gave an excellent taste” , Gualandi is said to have reported, according to the Italian website “Gambo Rosso”. Immediately afterwards, the chef went to Rome, where he also cooked for the Allies and, some believe, the dish became more and more widespread.
Not everyone likes the idea that the Americans were involved in some way in the development of the Italian bestseller. Especially since it could have been Italian charcoal burners who first cooked the dish. Some food encyclopedias want to know that the dish was actually already known in the Lazio region before the Americans invaded there. Accordingly, it is said to have been prepared by the cabbage burners (Carbonaro) during their lunch break. And finally, the name of the dish, Spaghetti alla Carbonara, also suggests this. It means something like charcoal-burner-style spaghetti. Still others point to the woodcutters in Abbruzzo, who are said to have cooked the simple dish over charcoal fire.
Although this recipe for the classic pasta comes from a cookbook by Carlos Santi and Rosino Brera from 1966, which is quite late, many refer to it as the original recipe. What is certain is that it is a design that is widespread today.
List of ingredients (for 4 people)
500 g spaghetti100 g guanciale50 g butter4 egg yolksSalt, pepperGrated pecorinoFry the diced guanciale in the butter until everything is nicely browned. Cook the spaghetti in plenty of salted water until al dente, drain, place in a bowl and mix with butter and bacon. Divide the noodles among four deep plates and place an egg yolk in the middle of each. Mix quickly and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.
Sources: “The history of pasta in ten dishes” by Luca Cesari, Gambero Rosso, Via Medina, Gourmet Report
