Dish · italian
Carbonara
1
versions
Spaghetti coated in egg yolk, pecorino, and rendered guanciale fat, no cream. The yolks thicken off the heat into a glossy sauce, the guanciale stays crisp and salty, and coarse black pepper cuts through the richness.
Where it comes from
The dish appears in Roman kitchens only after 1944, when American rations brought powdered eggs and bacon into a city that already had plenty of eggs and cured pork. One theory ties the name to charcoal workers, the carbonari; neither claim is confirmed, and the dish has no earlier written record.
What cooks argue about
Cooks argue over whether the egg mixture goes in off the heat, risking a sauce that never sets, or over very low heat, risking scrambled curds. Guanciale versus pancetta is a separate, ongoing fight.
Versions
Ranked by how often people come back
- Spaghetti CarbonaraIlia · @ilia8 ingredientsAug 2026
What goes in it
Each one opens everything else made with it.
guanciale
egg yolk
black pepper