carbonara

Carbonara is a pasta dish made with eggs, hard cheese, cured pork, and black pepper. The dish took its modern form and name in the middle of the 20th century. The cheese is usually Pecorino Romano, parmesan, or a combination of the two. Spaghetti is the most common pasta, but fettuccine, rigatoni, linguine, or bucatini are also used. Normally guanciale or pancetta are used for the meat component, but lardons of smoked bacon are a common substitute outside Italy. Origin and history As with many recipes, the origins of the dish and its name are obscure; most sources trace its origin to the region of Lazio. The dish forms part of a family of dishes involving pasta with bacon, cheese, and pepper, one of which is pasta alla gricia. Indeed, it is very similar to pasta cacio e uova, a dish dressed with melted lard and a mixture of eggs and cheese, which is documented as long ago as 1839, and, according to some researchers and older Italians, may have been the pre-Second World War name of carbonara.