Carbonara - settle a bet

grandslamsmith

Afternoon!

I maintain that a classic Carbonara does NOT have cream in the recipe and that it is only the following:

Pasta of choice
Whipped egg
Parmesan
Cracked black pepper

???

moonshadow

1/2 pound bacon, chopped (i use the lidl chopped packs)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fresh spaghetti, cooked al dente
4 large eggs, beaten
Salt
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan.
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

works well for me.

kerrz

Classic italian carbonara doesn't contain cream see wikipedia link below( I use cream in mine though )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonara

jam_mac_jam

There should be no cream. Although lots of people like it

Possum66

+ cubed pancetta

no cream. pasta water and the eggs (mixed with a little grated Parmesan) make it creamy.

The Sweeper

I'd go with pasta of choice, egg, parmesan and black pepper being 'authentic', but I also add a little caramelised onion and bacon bits stirred through (do them on a low heat in a pan in a little butter until the onion goes transparent, then starts to take on colour, then add the bacon - takes as long as the pasta takes to cook.)

Mrs Fox

The Sweeper wrote: »

I'd go with pasta of choice, egg, parmesan and black pepper being 'authentic', but I also add a little caramelised onion and bacon bits stirred through (do them on a low heat in a pan in a little butter until the onion goes transparent, then starts to take on colour, then add the bacon - takes as long as the pasta takes to cook.)

Went to Il Vicoletto in Temple Bar few years back and tried to order Carbonara with onion.
The chef popped his head out of the kitchen and screamed NO!!!:(

irish_goat

Make it whatever way you think tastes better.

BaZmO*

There is the "traditional" way to make it but apparently even that changes from region to region in Italy. It certainly doesn't contain cream though. It's quite basic. Pancetta, Pasta, Parmessan, Pepper, some of the pasta cooking water, all served with a raw egg on top. You just mix the egg into the pasta and the residual heat cooks the egg.

I make mine with cream and occasionally mushrooms too. But as irish_goat has said "Make it whatever way you think tastes better"
People get too fixated on the original or traditional methods way too much.

Mrs Fox

BaZmO* wrote: »

People get too fixated on the original or traditional methods way too much.

Couldn't agree more.
I add cream, onion, mushroom and white wine. Oh the blasphemy.
I can eat this everyday.

jassha

Correct . NO CREAM.
butter
pancetta
garlic
eggs
parmesan
percorino cheese
pepper

Having said that a dash of cream is soooo nice

Kerikosan

grandslamsmith wrote: »

Afternoon!

I maintain that a classic Carbonara does NOT have cream in the recipe and that it is only the following:

Pasta of choice
Whipped egg
Parmesan
Cracked black pepper

???

A classic Italian carbonara does not contain cream.

However, in a reputable Italian restaurant I worked in we used some good Pancetta cut into small strips fried in a little olive oil, add your cooked pasta (we used Handmade tagliatelle pasta) add your cracked black pepper then quickly mix in a egg yolk and plate, finish with finely grated Parmesan.

in Ireland cream, mushrooms and herbs are also added but its not a true carbonara.

mystique150

The last time I made a carbonara-esque sauce, I didn't use any cream and made the sauce from a little cornflour and milk. Its just a basic white sauce.

I used plenty of onions, garlic, mushrooms, streaky bacon and herbs. I then added all the fried ingredients to the sauce so the flavour was great. I also like to add a few chopped olives and a decent amount of grated parmesan or other hard cheese on top.

neuro-praxis

mystique150 wrote: »

The last time I made a carbonara-esque sauce, I didn't use any cream and made the sauce from a little cornflour and milk. Its just a basic white sauce.

I used plenty of onions, garlic, mushrooms, streaky bacon and herbs. I then added all the fried ingredients to the sauce so the flavour was great. I also like to add a few chopped olives and a decent amount of grated parmesan or other hard cheese on top.

Sorry, this just ain't carbonara by any stretch! Not that that matters, if you liked it.

mystique150

neuro-praxis wrote: »

Sorry, this just ain't carbonara by any stretch! Not that that matters, if you liked it.

Thats why I said 'esque' :-) Thought it was worth throwing in considering how many abbreviations there are from a traditional carbonara.

BaZmO*

mystique150 wrote: »

Thats why I said 'esque' :-) Thought it was worth throwing in considering how many abbreviations there are from a traditional carbonara.

Deviations?

mystique150

BaZmO* wrote: »

Deviations?

haha indeed. Thats what I meant to write!

murphym7

I always use cream and about 4 egg yokes (for two people) Thats why I have a pain in my chest most of the time!!:) I compare mine to what I get in reastraunts and I prefer mine, bit rich for some tastes though.

BaZmO*

murphym7 wrote: »

I always use cream and about 4 egg yokes (for two people) Thats why I have a pain in my chest most of the time!!:) I compare mine to what I get in reastraunts and I prefer mine, bit rich for some tastes though.

4 egg yolks for two people?:eek: That's a lot all right.

I'd just use 1 whole egg for 2 people.

Here's a link to the recipe I use. It was also my effort for the Cooking Club last year.

monty_python

egg yolks guys, egg yolks,
keep the white for merainge's

grandslamsmith

Magic!

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