Egg, pecorino, parmesan and chickpeas. No cream, please. This Thursday, April 6th, is Carbonara Day, dedicated to one of the world’s most loved (and copied) Italian dishes. A typical pasta from the Lazio region, or rather from Rome, carbonara, like many other Italian recipes, makes simplicity its main virtue.
Three stories, one plate
Its origin is unknown, and there are many different versions of its invention that take us to Abruzzo, Naples or the United States, although the most authentic is undoubtedly the Roman version. This dish would be made up chickadees (“carbonari” in Romanesque dialect) between Lazio and Abruzzo, intended as easy to prepare food and good for hunger pangs during the long waiting hours in the coal production process.
Carbonara would be that the evolution of another dish called “Cacio e ova” (pasta with cheese and egg), always of Abruzzo origin, prepared by the charcoal burners themselves the day before to take to work and eat with their hands. By the way, pepper was used in large quantities instead of oil to preserve pork, lard or lard, which was too expensive for coal miners.
another hypothesis would bring the source of the recipe Neapolitan cuisinelinking it to some of the dishes in the treatise”Theoretical-practical cooking” by Ippolito Cavalcanti in 1837. It is worth noting that in the famous Neapolitan cuisine, it is common to use the ingredients in carbonara in the preparation of some dishes, for example, a mixture of beaten egg, cheese and pepper, which is added after cooking and remains the protagonist. very modern recipes.
What if the carbonara was invented by American soldiers? Agreed other sources: US military personnel During World War II, Italian soldiers prepared their daily meals with the most familiar and easy-to-find ingredients: eggs, bacon, cheese, and spaghetti. It’s no coincidence that carbonara is not mentioned in Ada Boni’s famous Roman cookbook, published in 1930. In fact, this. the dish is remembered for the first time after release Rome in 1944when it appeared in Roman markets bacon brought in by allied troops.
That you like this or that story is a separate matter, but something that never change is absence of cream (“panna” in Italian) and use of pork (“guanciale”) instead of bacon. When I lived in Spain, I was very surprised to see pasta carbonara and pizza filled with cream, onions, corn or other very strange ingredients in the eyes of an Italian.
Do well and first of all true carbonara, there is little to invent. We are taught by the country’s best chefs and pizzaioli, national symbols when it comes to this dish, whom we have interviewed to offer you three Italian carbonara recipes, from the most original pasta in Rome to Pizza Carbonara, not forgetting: Extraordinary Carbonara made backwards. Three different versions of the same dish, which respect its traditions, but are not afraid of innovations.
Carbonara de Roscioli – Rome
Rosioli is a legend of Roman gastronomy that encompasses many offerings in one reality; Salumeria restaurant, Antico Forno, cafe and pastry shop, money transfer and wine clubwhere you can find the excellence of Roman, Italian and international production, selected over the years with skill and passion.
In fact, the Rosioli family worked four generations in the world of hospitality, food and wine. It all started with Marco Roscioli and L’Antico Forno Roscioli in Via dei Chiavari, then came Delicatessen in Via dei Giubbonari, which we know today as Ristorante Salumeria Roscioli. The Roschioli today are Alessandro and Pierluigi, two brothers who continue their family tradition with wisdom and love, together with their sister Maria Elena.
His carbonara is considered one of the best, if not the best, for its creaminess, its different textures and more. sweet-sour contrast which will mean before and after your love affair with Italian carbonara.
Ingredients
- Spaghetti Benedetto Cavalieri, 180 g
- Papada, 120 g
- 1 whole egg and 1 yolk
- Pecorino Romano, 105 g
- Parmigiano Reggiano Red Cows 24 months old, 20 g
- Fresh ground black pepper: 10 g
- Coarse salt
Step 1:
Carefully clean the chicks, remove all the pepper and skin. Cut into pieces about 1 cm high, then into 1 cm cubes
Step 2:
Fry them in a hot pan on high heat. Wait, without stirring, until the first fat melts and one side becomes crisp and golden. Now stir and wait for all the fat to melt. Lower the heat and brown the crispy casting cubes for at least 20 minutes.
Step 3:
After the specified time, keep them in a pot not far from the stove and on the oven so that they stay warm and are always crispy.
Step 4:
Grate both cheeses with a classic grater and mix. While the spaghetti is cooked in salted water (it will take 12-13 minutes), beat the eggs in a plastic container so that they don’t get too hot.
Step 5:
Add a handful of grated cheese, freshly ground pepper and mix. If possible, use a mortar instead of a pepper mill so that the pepper is not too fine.
Step 6:
When the pasta is almost cooked, drain, being careful to save a ladle or two of the cooking water. Place the pasta directly in the pot with the eggs, pepper and cheese near the flame and heat source. Let sit for about a minute, then add the crispy chickpeas and a ladleful of their fat.
Paso 7:
Without using tongs or a ladle, begin moving the container in a circular motion up and down to emulsify the egg, cheese, and egg yolk cream with the macaroni. You have to be quick, maybe help yourself to some previously saved cooking water.
The magic of a successful carbonara is in this moment, emulsifying the eggs, cheese and fat with the water made from the eggs and the gluten from the pasta itself. Finally, place the pasta nest in the center of the plate and season with more cheese and pepper.
It is important. the weavers should be crispy on the outside and melty on the inside; pasteurize the egg in a bain-marie in contact with the steam from the kettle.
Pizza Carbonara from Seu Pizza Illuminati – Rome
Seu Pizza Illuminati, opened in 2018 by Pierre Daniele Seu and Valeria Zupardo, radically changed the concept of a traditional pizzeria to offer its customers an original restaurant experience with a strong identity, in a modern environment, paying attention to every detail.
Pierre Daniele Sue, who was awarded the prestigious award “Three Wedges” by Gambero Rosso. and considered one of the best pizzaioli in the world, he has given life to a completely new and very inclusive concept of pizza, which places great emphasis on the plant element, creating combinations inspired by gastronomic offers from all over the world.
One of them is certainly his Pizza Carbonara, where Sue puts a lot of it attention to the choice of raw materialsThe guanciale he uses, for example, comes from the Abbazia di Chiaravalle delicatessen in the Marche region and is cured for at least 5 months; Pecorino Romano is from Caseificio Fulvi in Nepi and is aged for at least 12 months; the eggs are from the Lazio region.
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks
- Pecorino Romano, 50 g
- Parmesan cheese, 20 g
- Papada, 70 g
- Pepper
Step 1:
Prepare “zabayone” (salted egg). Put the yolks in a thermomix at 80 °C for 15 minutes on a timer (for those who don’t have a thermomix, cook the yolks in a water bath, stirring with a stick or whisk and making sure the edges of the beaker stay clean so the yolk doesn’t cook and lumps form).
Step 2:
Then add pecorino, parmesan and pepper. Put everything in a pastry bag and let it cool. Grate the pecorino flakes with a grater.
Step 3:
Take the mold and remove the skin and outer pepper, cut it into pieces about 1.5 mm thick.
Step 4:
Wrap the pizza, add the toppings and bake.
Step 5:
We finish with “zabaione”, layered pecorino cheese and pepper.
Insólita Carbonara of Insolita Trattoria Tre Soldi – Florence
Named Roman, but born Florentine, the young cook Lorenzo Romanoin his restaurant Insolita Trattoria Tre Soldi (present in the Michelin Guide for several years), he prepares one of the most original and interesting carbonaras I have ever tasted.
How? Sticking to his philosophy entertainment the use of the typical ingredients of this gastronomic and repulsive dish. This way, the pecorino and parmesan won’t be scraped over the pasta as a finishing touch, but will become sweet cream to give it more flavor and softnesswhile the egg yolk will finally be grated as if it were bottarga.
Ingredients
- Pecorino Romano DOP, 50 g
- Parmigiano Reggiano red cows 30 months old, 50 g
- Milk, 200 g
- Butter: 40g
- Papada, 50 g
- 5 egg yolks and 2 more for egg yolks
- Pepper
Step 1:
During the night, infuse the milk with dry red pepper, thyme and rosemary. After infusion, filter and bring to a boil. When the milk reaches 85°, add the cheeses and melt.
Step 2:
Remove from heat, add egg yolk, mix with a little water to soften, then add butter to thicken.
Step 3:
To make egg bottarga, put the yolks in a salt and sugar marinade (about 100g coating per yolk), turn after 24 hours, remove from the marinade after a further 48 hours and smoke slowly with apples. wood 24 hours.
Step 4:
The preparation of the dish consists of the following steps, strictly in the following order: boil some lightly salted water in a pot and add the pasta to cook; Meanwhile, cut the baby into cubes about 1cm by 1cm, heat the pan, then brown the baby on a high heat for a few minutes until golden brown.
Step 5:
Remove the pasta from the water a few minutes before it’s done so it’s ready right in the pan with the guanciale.
Step 6:
At the end, we add the egg cream with milk and butter. Serve the carbonara on a plate and grate the egg bottarga over it.
Bon appetit and long live Carbonara! But since I was born, please…
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