There’s a gentle storm brewing on Nigella Lawson’s Facebook page, where critics are calling her Tuesday recipe of the day “a train wreck,” “the death of Italian recipes,” “an outrage to Italian cuisine.” Folks, it’s time to meet what Nigella Lawson calls her spaghetti alla carbonara.
It’s a recipe lifted from her 2004 book Feast, that achingly gorgeous piece of food writing I return to frequently. "I think spaghetti carbonara is what Meryl Streep cooks for Jack Nicholson in the film version of one of my favourite books, Heartburn,” she writes in her preamble to the recipe. “And it is so right, for that chin-dripping, love-soaked primal feast, the first time someone actually stays through the night."
The recipe itself is simple, really. It calls for spaghetti, cubed pancetta (not guanciale), olive oil, large eggs, parmesan cheese freshly-grated, black pepper, white wine (hm), grated nutmeg (interesting choice), and double cream.
The dish sounds wonderful, frankly, but it's the inclusion of that last component—a whopping 60ml of double cream, blended with the parmesan, eggs, and pepper—that Lawson's critics believe screws with the fundamental calculus of carbonara, diluting its taste and, more crucially, the dish's soul. Lawson's disclaimer that the recipe is "not entirely authentic" wasn't enough to assuage the ensuing torrent of anger. “Using cream is not being revolutionary,” one aggrieved Facebook user claimed. “It’s just the most traditional way to kill a dish.” There’s a fine line between improvisation and disrespect to Lawson’s critics. What one might consider a gesture of culinary experimentation can be perceived, especially to purists, as murder of a dish that's pretty clear-cut.
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There's a pretty compelling question at the heart of this, at least to my mind: How much can you futz with the makeup of a dish before you must call it by another name? And what burden falls on figures like Lawson, with such devoted and wide followings, to honor a dish's history through the language they use?
I'm of mixed minds here, so let's address a simpler matter. Do you put cream in your carbonara and still call it carbonara? Please let me know.
Written by: Mayukh Sen
Popular on Food52
87 Comments
M S.
July 20, 2017
I always disliked Marcella's idea of wine. Not authentic. What does it provide?Meanwhile, found Alfredo Viazzi's carbonara recipe using cream. Had it way back in the late 60's. Never understood its goodness. Thought I must have remembered the name of his dish wrongly. May try it one of these days: 1/4 pound pancetta, 1 pound spaghettini, 6 tbl butter, 1/2 tbl white wine, 2 egg yolks, 1/3 cup cream, 3/4 cup parmesan, salt, and pepper.
shirlene
July 19, 2017
Interesting that in her recipe for spaghetti carbonara Marcella Hazan sautés a split garlic clove in olive oil and then removes it and deglazes the pan with white wine... Enjoy.
icharmeat
July 15, 2017
I'm kind of surprised by all the noise on this. Folks that know that carbonara is very simple (and doesn't include cream) would normally ignore Nigella's recipe. Others, that are trying to duplicate something that they had at a restaurant are probably going to be thrilled making the recipe with cream. What is the big deal? Restaurants have been preparing pasta dishes this way since C.C. published his recipe so i guess we are talking about at least three decades. Let's not argue over the authenticity of the recipe-we can leave that to the italians since they love that kind of argument (and I love them for it). in USA, if you ordered carbonara at a restaurant, i'd bet you are at least 3/5 likely to get a cream enhanced dish. Ages ago, our restaurant offered a "cajun carbonara" with tasso in place of guiancale. it was liberally dashed with cream before serving and if you did not tuck in quick, it would turn to a brick on your plate. That was when i (personally) quit adding cream to many pasta dishes that did not need it. However, i have no problem subbing pancetta or (gasp) american bacon to carbonara because it tastes great (and there is only one place in my town where there is a possibility of getting guiancale and it is only a possibility, not a certainty). It all tastes great- lets focus on the delicious factor and and relax a bit on the name. rant off.
carol
July 15, 2017
Yeah-it reminds me of caesar salad -- most often when you order one out
(which I rarely do because of this issue) you get this creamy dressing that barely resembles the salty, tangy,garlicky, briny taste of the original recipe.
(which I rarely do because of this issue) you get this creamy dressing that barely resembles the salty, tangy,garlicky, briny taste of the original recipe.
Susan H.
July 14, 2017
This would have been a better piece had you made Nigella's recipe and tasted it rather than just saying it "sounds wonderful" and extolling her writing.
Susan H.
July 14, 2017
This would have been a better piece had you made Nigella's recipe and tasted it rather than just saying it "sounds wonderful" and extolling her writing.
Fred R.
July 14, 2017
It seems kind of romantic for any dish, anywhere in the world, to claim its inheritance on "what the locals" had on hand. But, let's be honest, there must have been a long weekend when "Luigi the Charcoal Maker," an inquisitive type, told his pals in Rome that he was going up to Venice to see what the spice merchants had brought to town. Luigi, never having seen them before, but being a great cook, bought saffron, anise, and maybe a different kind of black pepper from the Malabar Coast in India. Having some extra time he decided to take the northern route back to Rome, and so passed through Aosta (my grandparents) and said "Holy Smokes, look at all the cows, butter, milk, and cream around here," packing up some of each to take home. Arriving back safely, the town celebrated with a giant pasta feed which included all of the items he had brought back. The Mayor really liked this new dish and said "what shall we name it?" Luigi replied, "hey, we are still just simple charcoal makers, using local products, and maybe a bit extra, so this is still Pasta Carbonara....just a new variation. And, all in the village sleep well that night. The End.
Jo M.
July 14, 2017
Frankly I have never been a Nigella fan. She is not really a cook and never was. She pays people for recipes and then 'gussies' them up. She is a journalist who looks good and back in the day was asked to write restaurant reviews and some food journalism. Her real fame came from her winsome ways in front of than e TV cameras.
The name "Pasta Carbonara" tells you the provenance of this much loved Italian pasta dish. It was what the charcoal burners in the area of Rome would make. In their knapsacks they would have some pasta, a wedge of Pecorino Romano, an egg or two and a hunk of pancetta or similar. Those very basic ingredients, plus the water in which the pasta was cooked were all that was needed. Charcoal burners did not have cream or white wine to hand - obviously. The only acceptable additions to this classic recipe are salt and ground black pepper.
Nigella should call her dish by a totally different name because it is NOT Pasta Carbonara, it is something else.
The name "Pasta Carbonara" tells you the provenance of this much loved Italian pasta dish. It was what the charcoal burners in the area of Rome would make. In their knapsacks they would have some pasta, a wedge of Pecorino Romano, an egg or two and a hunk of pancetta or similar. Those very basic ingredients, plus the water in which the pasta was cooked were all that was needed. Charcoal burners did not have cream or white wine to hand - obviously. The only acceptable additions to this classic recipe are salt and ground black pepper.
Nigella should call her dish by a totally different name because it is NOT Pasta Carbonara, it is something else.
icharmeat
July 15, 2017
Jo,
I've worn a backpack both by necessity and by choice for at least six years in my past and I have never attempted to carry a raw egg in my knapsack because it seemed like certain folly. Suggesting that the creators of the dish used to carry a raw egg with them to prepare lunch or dinner doesn't sound realistic.
I've worn a backpack both by necessity and by choice for at least six years in my past and I have never attempted to carry a raw egg in my knapsack because it seemed like certain folly. Suggesting that the creators of the dish used to carry a raw egg with them to prepare lunch or dinner doesn't sound realistic.
charlot
July 14, 2017
Do italian cooks add cream to a cheese based sauce? wrong country...wouldn't you say?
Typically, a little of the pasta water at the end ot the boil, is thick enough to make a sauce creamy...especially with eggs.. & cheese...but no fancy ingredients to clutter it up.
Carbonara does not contain cream...so I think you must call it something else. ..'' my pasta with cream sauce...and white wine...and a surprise spice''
perhaps.....& it might be best to not mention Carbonara at all on this occasion.
Typically, a little of the pasta water at the end ot the boil, is thick enough to make a sauce creamy...especially with eggs.. & cheese...but no fancy ingredients to clutter it up.
Carbonara does not contain cream...so I think you must call it something else. ..'' my pasta with cream sauce...and white wine...and a surprise spice''
perhaps.....& it might be best to not mention Carbonara at all on this occasion.
Sveva
July 14, 2017
Ah, I forgot a good ground of black pepper just before to bring it to the table!
Sveva
July 14, 2017
Hi, I am from Roma, and my family is roman since centuries... I love Carbonara, and the real one is with eggs, just the red, Pecorino romano and not Parmigiano Reggiano, also if I like more with Parmigiano, Guanciale and not Pancetta, and a touch of Olio Extravergine di Oliva. You have to blend the eggs ant the Pecorino in a bowl and put some hot water from the boiling pasta to make it creamy. Cut the Guanciale in little pieces and cook it with a drop of Oil. Make it crispy but not burned, and when you put the pasta in the bowl with the eggs and Pecorino, you mix it, you put the Guanciale and if it's too sticky you have to add some water from the pasta; must be creamy. Absolutely FORBIDDEN to use CREAM, NUTMEG and WHITE WINE. This is the real one, otherwise you can do what you want but you can't call it Carbonara, call it "Carbonara My Way"!
icharmeat
July 15, 2017
thanks Sveva for an "italian authentic" recipe. I'll make it your way one day soon when i can get guanciale. I know it will be great but the recipes that are not authentic can also be really tasty. best regards, chuck
bijou L.
July 14, 2017
Sure! it's a matter of interpretation, that's all. . . the nutmeg touch is more disturbing than the cream. . . nutmeg is a French touch ~ not Italian.
AI
July 20, 2017
Perhaps it is not so French after all. The continental spice trade came largely through Venice. As well as that Italy was under the reign of the Bourbon French for centuries and the cuisine of the provinces in the northwest, near France, is quite unlike that of the rest of Italy. Nocce moscato is often found in older, traditional recipes, from gnocchi to sauces.
Julie M.
July 14, 2017
Not only do I ALWAYS use cream in my carbonara, but I also add garlic. Nothing better.
EM L.
July 13, 2017
Done right, and with the purest form of ingredients, you do not need mozzarella, cream, or wine...#sowrong
EM L.
July 13, 2017
You lost me at "white wine"...I cannot read more of the article on that alone. NOT Carbornara...
meg
July 13, 2017
What I'd really like to know is why the dish is called parmigiana (a different dish than you are discussing here) when it is made with mozzarella?
LesleyVivien
July 13, 2017
I imagine it's used in the sense of being made in the style of Parma, rather than with the cheese of Parma.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/parmigiana
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/parmigiana
Io F.
July 13, 2017
tons of recipes (and first page of Google results) told me Carbonara is with cream,and that was what made me try it first; calling it Carbonara and making it with cream is 'the trend' and I don't really see how you could change this 'trend?!'
it may be that traditional Italians don't include cream, or it might be they did not write so much about their 'traditional' recipe so people did not know exactly what that was
in my country cream meant 'fermented cream' as the standard, so I guess we unknowingly changed so many 'traditional' recipes using the ingredients we knew, not knowing there could be differencies
it may be that traditional Italians don't include cream, or it might be they did not write so much about their 'traditional' recipe so people did not know exactly what that was
in my country cream meant 'fermented cream' as the standard, so I guess we unknowingly changed so many 'traditional' recipes using the ingredients we knew, not knowing there could be differencies
charlot
July 14, 2017
Who said that making up a new dish while keeping the original name, is a trend??....A trend isn't something you ''change''...it's ''trying to change... and upstage, tradition''...and a trend is by definition a passing stage or fashion...
& usually recognized as an experiment...In the best event, someone is trying to take tradition in a new direction...away from what made the tradition become the Tradition. Sometimes that's sort of interesting. The nutmeg is a bit contradictory...
& usually recognized as an experiment...In the best event, someone is trying to take tradition in a new direction...away from what made the tradition become the Tradition. Sometimes that's sort of interesting. The nutmeg is a bit contradictory...
Sheri Y.
July 13, 2017
I learned to make Carbonara from Craig Claiborne's recipe in the NY Rimes Cookbook. Guess what ? It includes cream and it is
delicious. I've since learned to do it tbe more traditional way, sans cream, but that's really only so I can justify eating it more often.
delicious. I've since learned to do it tbe more traditional way, sans cream, but that's really only so I can justify eating it more often.
Julie M.
July 14, 2017
:) I learned it from the Italian mother of my fiancee in 1969 - as well as raviolis at home by hand. No, I never married her son - but still love Italian cooking.
Margaret L.
July 11, 2017
To me the question is not about whether it is OK to eat spaghetti with cream and bacon and eggs -- do it if you want. But please respect the words. If someone believes they can add whatever they want to a recipe and still claim the name, then why don't we just make a pumpkin pie with beef jerky and rhubarb in it and call it "spaghetti carbonara?" Why not make lemonade entirely with vegetables? Or tapenade with no olives in it? (I actually saw this in a culinary school recipe development class -- a student's creative concoction was slapped with the classical name, the student having no notion of what he was suggesting by calling it tapenade; his teacher marked it down; she had respect for the names.) Spaghetti with a bit of ham, a cream sauce and peas also has a name. It is "della Nonna," "grandmother's style" (although James Beard made a version and dubbed it "pleasant pasta.") It is a comforting, unchallenging dish, as comfy as grandmother herself. Spaghetti carbonara means "charcoal-maker's style," a name given because the generously strewn black pepper make it appear to be sprinkled with charcoal. A dish with cream and without lots of black pepper may be tasty, but it's not carbonara.
Fred R.
July 13, 2017
But a dish with lots of black pepper flakes (carbonara) AND cream is not carbonara, why?
Margaret L.
July 14, 2017
@FredRickson I have to ask, why do we not call your partners by any name and expect them to answer? Because by common agreement names mark out something or someone distinctive, and we cannot change them at will without losing something the connection. (Like the comedian Mike Berbiglia says, "So I said to my wife, 'Clo?' Her name is 'Jen.'" It's funny because we agree we're not supposed to do it.) Making a pasta with cream sauce is extremely easy, what the Italians would call a "stupidaggine"; it's nearly impossible to get it wrong. Boil cream, maybe butter, add cheese, "basta": eat. Because carbonara doesn't have cream, its method is completely different, and it's ingenious. Rather than making a sauce and pouring it onto cooked pasta, the cook combines the spaghetti with the oil, eggs, and cheese and then draws the strands of pasta through the ingredients until a sauce forms. The beauty of a proper carbonara is that it is nothing like alfredo or della Nonna or any other cream-based sauce. It is really distinctive. Let's not lose that by being sloppy with the name. (But then Nigella piles on wine and nutmeg until, really, the sauce is completely unrecognizable. So let's call that dish "spaghetti Nigella" and we can all eat happy.)
Margaret L.
July 14, 2017
sorry, that should be "our partners" and "losing the connection." Wish posts could be edited!
Julie M.
July 14, 2017
:) A rose by any other name smells as sweet. Every house makes every recipe their own way. Praise God! as long as their family is happy I don't see a problem. Nigella tried it her own way - try it don't chastise the world will still turn.
Margaret L.
July 15, 2017
@juliemester On Valentine's Day shall I call the florist and ask them to deliver to you a dozen cans of tomato soup, because that's what I like to call roses? How would the poor florist know what I meant if I use the words recklessly?
Again, anyone can eat whatever they like -- garlic, cream, nutmeg, have at it! But words have meaning by common agreement, and the same play that gave us "a rose by any other name" shows what can happen when you try to call a Capulet by the name of Montague.
Again, anyone can eat whatever they like -- garlic, cream, nutmeg, have at it! But words have meaning by common agreement, and the same play that gave us "a rose by any other name" shows what can happen when you try to call a Capulet by the name of Montague.
BerryBaby
July 10, 2017
I'm Italian and yes, I add cream with the eggs and parmesan. Why? Because I like the texture and creaminess. I call it Carbonara. So what if it isn't traditional? Most Italian dishes aren't. I've never had lasagna made the same at any restaurant, but they are still called lasagna. Same with chicken parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs...so many variations of meatballs but still called meatballs. This is my version of carbonara and I love it!
Fred R.
July 9, 2017
This article, with its Italian reference (my grandparents emigrated from northern Italy in the 1800s), really exemplifies why the US is so fortunate with regards to cooking. I traveled Asian countries for 30 years, discussing cooking, cooking for local friends, and the rigid structure of a dish was often laughable (never out-loud). "Try this addition to your standard recipe"....yuch, sorry..."just not correct." Here, we don't care, try it...you just might like it.
christer W.
July 8, 2017
Guanciale is difficult at best to acquire in many parts of the country.
Bee
July 8, 2017
Right, where we live it's somewhat easier (Europe). And whenever we travel to Italy, we buy a big chunk of guanciale and I keep it vacuum sealed in the fridge ;-)
M S.
July 8, 2017
On line purchasing effective. Mario Batali's father has/had a mail order business that sold real guangiale. There is also a wholesaler/retailer in NYC (28th and 8th) that has it. Domestic stuff around..even artisnal. Does not work for me.
ChefJune
July 9, 2017
Guanciale is easily available online fron www.salumeriaitaliana.com. Of if you're in Boston, you can drop by. :)
christer W.
July 10, 2017
At Salumeria Italiana, 8 oz of guanciale is $10. Not Bad. Getting to me via 2nd day is $25 more. So assuming I squeeze two batches out of it, the guanicale for each batch will run a mere $17.50. Easy to get, perhaps. Reasonably priced?
carol
July 8, 2017
I love this conversation, mostly because it affectionately reminds me of the many Italians I know and their rather bullish attitude about what is the "right" way to prepare something. My Italian neighbor, in the hills of Tuscany, almost bit my head off when I began to prepare asparagus by grilling it with olive oil and garlic. He then went into a diatribe about exactly how asparagus should be eaten -- tossed into a perfect risotto. Basta! I love Italians and their cuisine but let's lighten up. BTW, I prefer my carbonara without cream or wine but sometimes add fresh peas...THE horror.
Gardener-cook
July 8, 2017
This "controversy" indicates to me that some people spend too much time worrying and not enough time cooking and eating with happy people. I grew up in Louisiana and appreciate the adaptability and flexibility of Cajun cuisine, and all other cuisines.
luvcookbooks
July 8, 2017
I want to chime in that the scene in Heartburn is the most romantic, sexy food scene ever. I don't care if cream is traditional if it is delicious.
Muiread
July 7, 2017
Marcella Hazan's recipe for carbonara in her Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking calls for both garlic and white wine. No cream, though.
Big P.
July 7, 2017
She's not the first to take the dish in that direction. And isn't there also a culinarian disagreement about Fredo's Fettuccine? I understand that in Rome it's just butter and cheese.
M S.
July 7, 2017
Was shocked to learn that many make carbonara with cream added? Helped with a 50 year old problem. Back then, Trattoria Alfredo was a wonderful place for Italian food, especially many Rome pastas. Remember somebody getting this creamy, delicious looking carbonara. Never understood it. All the pasta recipes I checked did not have it. Still have not tried it. But, ran into recipes and restaurants that serve it with cream.
KAF
July 7, 2017
Call it Carbonara inspired, Carbongella, or pasta stuff, just don't forget to call me when dinner is served. ;)
Jared
July 7, 2017
If we are going to add cream to Carbonara let's just called ketchup on pasta Marinara sauce. I have no problem with her dish, it's good and I have had it that way but please do not call it Carbonara.
Micah J.
July 7, 2017
It's interesting how invested people get in the names we give food. If Nigella hadn't used the word "carbonara," this wouldn't be a controversy. Pasta carbonara means "pasta in the manner of coal miners." Why aren't we asking them?
Margaret L.
July 11, 2017
Actually, carbonara means "charcoal-maker's style," and it refers to the copious amounts of black pepper that make the dish look like a charcoal maker has been at the stove. Actually, the one I'd really like to know the true history of is pasta puttanesca, "hooker's pasta."
Cat
July 6, 2017
I discovered Carbonara 35 years ago while studying in Roma...When hunting for the recipe state-side, I saw many variations, but none that reminded me of La Nouva Capannina's (the restaurant we gathered in as studenti)...fast forward many years, and I finally got the 'true' restaurant version from the owner Enrico. Soooo simple yet perfect :) SO while I am a purist and prefer the simple version, I am all about trying new variations. I saw a wonderful article a few years back about an Italian Pig Farmer and his exceptional ingredients (where I first learned of cinta senese guanciale vs panceta) that I'd try IF I could find all the specialty items... So...my adapted recipe is: our own home grown eggs, a very high grade bacon, and romano cheese...near perfection!
jules
July 6, 2017
No cream, ever, but really, who cares? Who cares if you like your beef well-done? Who cares if you like instant coffee? Who cares if you like your green beans really soft and mushy? The world is a crazy place, eat well but eat what you like. As long as you don't hurt anyone, it's all fine.
Donna H.
July 6, 2017
I agree completely Jules. I work in an olive oil and vinegar tasting bar, and always tell our customers, we give you some suggestions, but really, if you like it, and someone else doesn't, that doesn't make you wrong. It's all about individual pallets!
AI
July 20, 2017
Palate. Pallets are those wood plank platforms that forklifts move around a warehouse.
Stephanie B.
July 6, 2017
I make my carbonara the traditional way, but I don't care if she calls her version carbonara. If she was claiming it was authentic then sure, but she added the disclaimer that it is not. It still has eggs, parm, and pancetta (easier to find guanciale). It's carbonara-esque? Carbonara-ish? Maybe it gets people to dip their toes into cooking, maybe she just likes how it tastes. If food purists don't like it, they don't have to follow her recipe. I enjoy the traditional carbonara, but I think her recipe sounds good too - sounds a bit more custardy, esp with that pinch of nutmeg to set it off. On a related note, adding ricotta to cacio e pepe is apparently a fool proof way to get the texture right, but no one is faulting the romans who did that for being lazy and not emulsifying their oils/cheese in the pasta water properly!
Brian I.
July 6, 2017
Food 52 hosts many carbonara recipes that aren't traditional carbonara (one favorite here, and the comments are worth reading: https://food52.com/recipes/214-daddy-s-carbonara#comments), but who cares? The point is to enjoy cooking and sharing that meal with your friends and family. History lessons are for books; what's on the end of my fork only needs to be delicious.
christer W.
July 6, 2017
What's wrong with making it the traditional way? What is it you are accomplishing by adding cream? If you are concerned about the eggs becoming "scrambled" mix the eggs into the grated cheese before adding to the hot pasta. It really helps to have retained some of the pasta water to get the texture "just right".
Joan B.
July 6, 2017
We've been using a Nigella Carbonara recipe from her book "how To Eat" that is delicious and has no milk or cream.
cucina D.
July 6, 2017
Absolutely no cream or milk belongs in a carbonara... this is a casa rustica recipe created by farmer families of little means... I still make it the classic way and my famiglia loves it... signed, a born and raised Roman ❤️
abbyarnold
July 6, 2017
This is sending me running to Calvin Trillin's story about making and eating spaghetti carbonara for Thanksgiving! To the extent you can tell the ingredients from his perfect essay, no cream is involved.
luvcookbooks
July 8, 2017
How I love that essay! May U.K. has Sen, your articles are great AND you inspire great threads of response!
Nancy M.
July 6, 2017
As far as I'm concerned an even more egregious lapse is Samin Nosrat's recipe on a recent Splendid Table for pasta with clams that calls for CHEESE! She's a current food darling in America - but I'm not in.
https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/pasta-alle-vongole-pasta-with-clams
https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/pasta-alle-vongole-pasta-with-clams
ChefJune
July 6, 2017
Italians know this is not Carbonara. And people like me - not Italian, but who prefer authenticity - also know. My problem with her dish is calling in Carbonara. Which it isn't. Delicious? probably, but please give it a new, different name.
I also take issue with those who call all flavored mayonnaises "aïoli." Aioli is garlic mayo, and nothing else. But no one listens or cares, because they know "better."
I also take issue with those who call all flavored mayonnaises "aïoli." Aioli is garlic mayo, and nothing else. But no one listens or cares, because they know "better."
Courtney C.
July 6, 2017
Since I'm a vegetarian and have enjoyed guanciale-free carbonara, I really can't comment here about authenticity. I will say, however, that I own Feast and love, love, love her description of this meal and its more primal purpose. It's worth making, and I did enjoy it in the days before I was a vegetarian.
Anna W.
July 6, 2017
The original carbonara uses pecorino, not parmesan, and doesn't contain cream. Who is to say, however, that a person can't amend a recipe to fit his/her taste? Cuisines evolve; the truly original Roman cuisine (from the time of the empire) used herbs such as cilantro, ginger and other things that, in modern times, aren't considered to be part of the Italian repertoire. I think that if the post-wwII Italians that began to make the carbonara had had cream, they might very well have used it, although perhaps just a touch of it, rather than the 60ml.
Jamie
July 6, 2017
I've made this recipe many times. I fully acknowledge that it's not traditional, but it has one major benefit that I've not seen anybody mention - it's foolproof. Adding creme to the eggs before tossing with the hot pasta helps keep the eggs from curdling and ruining the whole dish. For a less experienced cook, the risk of accidentally serving up scrambled eggs with your pasta (and wasting about $15 in cured pork and imported cheese in the process) makes carbonara kind of intimidating. This recipe was like a gateway to a new cooking technique for me, so I can't be mad at it.
Mario
July 7, 2017
It is sad that the dish, originally, was prepared for the American soldiers in 1944 while in Rome and there was no cream at the time. The eggs provided the cream necessary and the curdling will never occur if you let the guanciale rest. At the time there was no bacon as you presently know it and the cheese was pecorino romano. The recipe it is not Carbonara but a variation of it and cannot be confused with the original.
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