The ultimate guide to carbonara

Is there anything more Italian, more delicious and yet, more divisive than carbonara? The famous Roman pasta dish is treated with such reverence by Italians that the slightest alteration to the recipe can cause international incidents and bring calls of heresy on whatever unfortunate cook indulged their misjudged creativity with it.

The origins of the dish are somewhat hazy. Some claim that the name ‘carbonara’ which means coal burner or someone who might have worked at a forge or furnace, points to it being invented as a hearty dish to feed the men who laboured in Rome’s kilns and coal pits outside the city. Others attribute the dish to US soldiers who, during World War II brought their rations of eggs and bacon to restaurants to augment the locals’ limited menus.

Wherever it came from, it is today a dish that is synonymous with Rome and epitomises the very best of Italian cuisine. It uses five ingredients – eggs, pasta, pepper, pecorino Romano and pigs’ cheeks (guanciale). However, it is in the ever so slight variations of these ingredients and the techniques employed in combining them that the fault lines appear. Every family will have their own way of doing carbonara, and every family will swear blind that theirs is the best.

As 6 April is Carbonara Day in Italy, we’ve put together a few of our own recipes and variations. You decide which is the real deal.

Traditional pasta carbonara recipe

This Tried & Tasted recipe for carbonara by Fine Dining Lovers is as close to a definitive way to do it as you’ll find. Using guanciale, egg yolks, pecorino Romano, salt and pepper, and served with spaghetti, it is easy to make and if you follow the method, you can’t go wrong.