The magnum opus of the Italian cuisine.
What is a better way to start this venture through this hall of food than with one of the most famous dishes. You can find it everywhere in the modern cosmopolitan hemisphere. A dish famed for its simplicity. I am talking about one of the magnum opus of the Italian Cuisine; Pasta Carbonara.
Favored for the small amount of ingredients one need, the richness and it's filling nature. If executed to perfection one should receive a plate with 90g - 110g of favourably bronze extruded pasta durum semolina wheat. Shapes are up to taste, I do prefer rigatoni as I love the way it holds the sauce. Fresh eggs, free range of course. Black Pepper, I prefer Lampong Peppercorns that have been toasted to intensify the taste giving of a marvelous bright and fruity pepper tone which complements the richness. The last ingredient is guanciale or pork cheek. It is a cured meat that has been rubbed with salt, garlic, thyme, fennel, red pepper. It's flavour is intense and is a great addition to any sauce. Pack all the ingredients together and indulge yourself in a feast that lifts your spirit and satisfies any soul.
The one that thought of this combination of simple ingredients should be put on a pedestal. But who was he or was it a she, maybe a they? Well no one really knows, pasta carbonara for its simplicity likes to stay mysterious. There are speculations that result in 4 possible theories. These theories are still being discussed by food historians alike, so we take these theories with a pinch of pepper.
Theory 1.
Restaurant La Carbonara in Rome. Established in 1912 by a coal seller Federico Salomone. But the current owners of the restaurant do not claim the invention of Pasta Carbonara.
Restaurant La Carbonara, Rome.
Theory 2.
Coal Miners. Just like Federico Salomone from La Carbonara, historians often point to coal miners for the invention of the dish. As indicated by the Italian word "Carbonaro" literally charcoal burner. Thus to believe that the dish originates as a hearty meal for the coalminers. However, the word Carbonari had a completely different meaning pre-industrialised Italy. The Carbonari was a secret society aimed at creating a revolution to unify Italy but not creating the next pasta dish.
Theory 3.
The American Soldier. After the second World War, American soldiers remained in Italy, for reasons other than good food and Italian women. The yanks are of course notorious for eating a thick slice of bacon with their breakfast. So as the myth goes the Americans introduced bacon to the Romans which gave birth to a dish consisting of bacon and eggs. However Jeremy Parzen debunks this theory, due the fact that he found a term in "Lunga Vita di Trilussa" (The Long Life of Trilussa) which points to a point of clarity within history that pre-dates the arrival of the Americans. The one whose life is honoured here is Trilussa, A great Roman poet who wrote in the Roman dialect. In true Roman fashion his favourite dish.. spaghetti alla carbonara. Thus the American theory does not stand.
A Trilussa drawing. Famed for his Roman bourgeoisie imagery.
Well, I have proposed three well-known theories which we all have explored and have left to ruins. The excavation grounds of this dish are all over the place and sometimes you need not to dig down but wide and look for dishes that resemble the famous Carbonara, and that is "co caso e ova sbattute". In English; cheese with beaten egg pasta. This recipe appears in the legendary Cavalcanti's “Cucina casareccia in dialetto Napoletano” written in 1839. A book devoted to home cooking for the Neapolitan proletariat. In the book there are many classical preparations for "macaraoni" which is a short shaped pasta. Where it was custom in the Neapolitan cuisine to season dishes with 'cacio, pepe, uovo', cheese, pepper and egg. We can conclude now that pasta with eggs and cheese existed before 1839.
Again thanks to the research of Jeremy Parzen. He points at the fact that in Renaissance Italy the term "carbonata'' was a type of salt cured and smoked ham and smoked pork. Which means that the carbonata could have been the sum of Neapolitan seasoning and the carbonata resulting in carbonara.
But even that is not sure. The only thing I can do is leave you with a poem by the man that fell in love with the mystique of this dish, Trilussa.
In the Shade of a Hay Rick
I read my paper, back propped against the hay
Here comes a hog, so I look up and say,“Goodbye, Pig!”
And then across the grass here comes a donkey;
I say, “Goodbye, ass!”
No way of telling if they’ve understood.
Whether they have or not, it does me good to call things what they are
without the dread of having to go to jail for what I’ve said.
(From Giove e le bestie, 1932,)