carbonara Sauce

Pasta combined with sauce is considered to be one of the eternal culinary themes. The inexhaustible variations of carbonara can never reach absolute perfection – new products and combinations appear every second, and a minimal deviation from the recipe creates a completely new unique dish. World-famous chefs say that there is no limit to the perfection of carbonara and we have to agree with this.

Roman classics provide a limited number of ingredients: dried pork, egg and wheat pasta. Later, for a variety of taste buds, they decided to add cream to the carbonara. It is this dairy component that has become a stumbling block. Some defend an authentic recipe for carbonara, while others advocate a soft, enveloping creamy taste and departure from tradition. What are the various variations of the sauce, how to cook them and what to serve?

General characteristics of the dish

Spaghetti in combination with carbonara sauce is the main dish of the Italian culinary tradition. It is prepared in almost every home, and local establishments create their own recipes and techniques to attract customers with the best carbonara. The dish is especially popular in two provinces: Lazio and Umbria. It was in these neighborhoods of Rome that carbonara was born, so the locals have a special love for delicacy. The inhabitants of Lazio and Umbria cook carbonara not only for festive family dinners, but also for daily meals. The uniqueness of the sauce lies in its simplicity: with a minimum set of available ingredients, the dish acquires a special taste that simply cannot leave you indifferent.

Italians claim that authentic carbonara will only come from local products. Each ingredient critically affects the taste and aroma of the dish. Even an extra sour note in guancial or excessive density of cheese will affect the final result. However, the success of carbonara around the world refutes this assertion. It’s about the quality, not the origin of the ingredients. Although, if you have the opportunity to go to Italy for food for dinner (or dine in a traditional restaurant there), take full advantage of it.

Ala carbonara pasta is made from five main products: wheat pasta, small pieces of guanchial (dried pork cheeks), eggs, cheese (pecorino romano or parmesan) and spices. The sauce becomes completely ready only after it is in the same container with spaghetti.

Historical information

Brief etymological information. The word “carbonara” is translated as “the color of coal” (“carbon” in Italian means “coal”). There are many versions of the possible origin of the name. Historians single out the most prosaic and believable. Traditionally, carbonara is abundantly seasoned with black pepper. Before serving, the dish is covered with a whole layer of gray powder, which overlaps the color of the paste / other products, and makes the dish look like coal.

Coal is mixed in another version of the origin of the dish name and the sauce itself. One of the legends says that the Italian coal miners (carbonario), who worked in the Apennines, decided to mix their lunch in one large container. Moreover, exhausting hikes and work in the mountains required an enormous amount of food. The coal miners stocked up on food for several days and even weeks in advance. Agree, to carry a lot of containers with a separate product is unergonomic. Men wanted to ease their own burden, and created a new amazing product that has become the world’s gastronomic heritage.

The first pasta was born in unimaginable conditions – in an ordinary clay pot on a fire. Adherents of the authentic taste of pasta advise cooking carbonara on a fire, supposedly modern technology and special pots only spoil the taste.

Another version of the origin of the pearl of Italian cuisine is implicated around the US military. During World War II, soldiers delivered provisions from the United States to Italy. Among the food boxes were eggs and bacon. It was from these two products that they whipped up the prototype of the famous sauce. Many Italians refute this version and argue that carbonara existed on their lands in the pre-war period.

The recipe for carbonaras was constantly changing (which is happening now). Cooks are looking for new amazing combinations that will reveal the taste of traditional dishes in a new way. Adjustments to the composition of carbonara and made the economic situation. In most cases, the sauce is not used Parmesan or pecorino Romano, but cheaper varieties with the most similar taste.

The most fierce battles appeared around the introduction of cream into the sauce. The culinary experts decided that the dairy product would add a special tenderness and creamy structure to the dish. Proponents of the traditional recipe reject such ideas and believe that whipped eggs, not cream, give tenderness to carbonara. The main rule is to thoroughly mix the egg mixture before adding it to the sauce.

The secret of the perfect carbonara: the dish must be served immediately, but the cooking process itself is better to stretch for several hours to carefully work out each ingredient and combination.

Use of the ingredient in cooking

An alternative recipe for pasta carbonara with red onions

Commentary on the recipe: Below is an alternative recipe for carbonara, which is served in local Italian establishments. The calorie content of the dish is colossal, but its taste becomes a significant argument against any diet and daily KBZhU. To reduce the overall calorie content of the dish, you can slightly adjust the composition and processing methods. Take a paste of durum wheat, replace the bacon with chicken, grated parmesan with low-fat lactose-free cheese, and butter with ghee butter. We warn you that the taste of such a dish will be significantly different from traditional Roman pasta.

We need:

• Spaghetti – 250 g;
• butter – 20 g;
• Garlic – 3 cloves;
• bacon – 50 g;
• chicken egg – 4 pcs;
• grated parmesan – 50 g;
• red onion – 1 medium-sized head;
• cream (recommended fat content – 20%) – 200 ml;
• salt / pepper to taste.

Preparation

Boil the water in a deep saucepan and boil the pasta until al dente. Spaghetti should remain slightly damp and have a pleasant, viscous taste.

Advice. To achieve al dente, simply cook the pasta for 1 minute less than the instructions on the package.

While the pasta is boiling, prepare the sauce. Melt the butter in a hot frying pan, chop the onion, garlic and bacon to the required size. Sauté all the ingredients in butter until soft. A rich garlic-bacon aroma will also indicate the finish of the preparation. Remove the pan from the heat and cover with a tight lid.

In a deep bowl, beat the egg yolks 4. Add cream, grated parmesan, favorite spices into the container and beat the mixture thoroughly again. Throw roasted garlic, onion, bacon and beaten egg-cheese mixture into a pan with pasta. Serve immediately after cooking so as not to lose a single flavor combination. Sprinkle pasta on top with an extra portion of cheese and your favorite spices.

Top 5 main cooking mistakes of traditional carbonara

Factory made spaghetti instead of homemade

One of the most important components of authentic carbonara is the liquid in which spaghetti is boiled. There should be enough starch and specific flavor in the water to give the sauce the right consistency. You can get the “right” liquid only with the help of homemade pasta.

Italian chefs use spaghetton. These special elongated spaghetti, which is given a slightly rough structure and richly sprinkled with flour. On the paste form a special bend, which can not be found at the factory manufacturer. Traditional spaghetton is dried on a wire, but it is not necessary to resort to such subtleties of preparation. Homemade pasta must be boiled a little longer than the store. Cooking time increases on average 2 times. Boil the ingredient is necessary in salted water, which later will play its gastronomic role.

Ham instead of Italian meat

Authentic carbonara requires a specific range of products. Among them is guanciale, which cannot be replaced with ordinary ham. Italian meat has a specific rich taste and texture that store-bought vacuumed ham cannot compare to. If you can’t find guanciale, use bacon, pancetta or prosciutto.

Guanchiale is a dry piece of pork cheek. The product is significantly different from other cuts of pork. Traditional Italian recipe for guanchiale preparation:

• pour fresh meat with sea salt;
• stand for about 5 days in a dark room (ventilation and temperature is periodically regulated);
• rinse the salt thoroughly and wipe the cut dry with napkins;
• sprinkle with salt, pepper, rosemary / thyme and chili pepper a second time.

Butter and cream

Dairy products appeared in carbonara for a reason – many lacked the tenderness and creamy structure of the dish. The easiest and fastest way to fix the situation is butter and cream. The traditional carbonara recipe avoids these ingredients. The starchy broth (remains after boiling the pasta) and guanciale fat add specific softness and tenderness to the dish. Remember: properly prepared carbonara does not need additional ingredients.

It is important to start cooking the sauce at the same time as the pasta.

The sauce is prepared using this technology:

• add frying oil to the preheated frying pan and fry small pieces of guanchiale (literally add a drop of oil to 1, as the meat, during processing, will release fat by itself);
• set the fire to maximum so that the pork is crispy;
• In the same pan begin to enter the paste, and then gradually pour a small amount of the liquid in which it was boiled;
• Stir for a few minutes.

Starch is mixed with butter, pasta and fat, which is separated from the meat. The process produces a delicate cream sauce, which is excellent without cream.

Lots of salt and little pepper

The irrational distribution of seasonings will easily kill a dish of the best ingredients. Salt should only be added to boiling water for spaghetti, it will not be useful at other stages of cooking. With pepper, the situation is quite different. Coal powder has become a distinctive feature of carbonara, giving the dish its name and popularity among the population. Pepper can be added at any stage, but seasoning is best before serving. It is important that the black pepper is fresh. Ideally, if you can grind the product right during the cooking process. Italian chefs say you can’t just grind peppers in a mill. It is best to use a knife and hands – just break the charcoal grains to the required size. Only in this way the spice will reveal its natural multifaceted taste.

Freshness of ingredients and the dish itself

Freshness and quality of products is an absolutely rational requirement for any dish. The rich taste of carbonara is revealed only fresh. It cannot be prepared for several family dinners in advance, because the dish will simply lose its main feature – structure. It is also unacceptable to make preparations for the sauce. Every Italian chef knows that the preparation of carbonara must be fast, otherwise it is impossible to achieve the desired consistency and flavor combinations.

These mistakes are deviations from the authentic recipe, not drastic gastronomic bans. Cooking is moving forward, but there will always be room for your favorite classic recipes. It is possible to fully comply with the original recipe only under ideal conditions: high-quality fresh products, specially trained staff and professional kitchen equipment. In your variations of carbonara, you can safely break all the rules if your soul and taste buds require it. Experiment and be healthy!