The Day I Learned to Make Spaghetti Carbonara

[CharlieD]

@CharlieD , if memory serves, aren't you dairy free? Carbonara uses cheese, lots...

Here's a non traditional recipe that is very good and easy to make.

Carbonara, sort of...

Classic carbonara has egg yolk, Pecorino Romano, guanciale, black pepper, pasta and maybe some pasta water, that's it. But, it seems like sometimes you end up with scrambled eggs and pasta. This method virtually eliminates that possibility. This recipe also is not classic in that it uses...

www.discusscooking.com

The thread also mentions the recipe from Serious Eats, which is also quite good.

There is also a more traditional/classic recipe by another member. I've made a similar recipe that is also good.

I'm not, not dairy free that is. I cannot mix meat and milk products though. About Carbonara, I thought the whole point that it is pasta and black pepper, no meat.

 

[medtran49]

I'm not, not dairy free that is. I cannot mix meat and milk products though. About Carbonara, I thought the whole point that it is pasta and black pepper, no meat.

Carbonara has pork cubes in it, traditionally guanciale, but lots and lots of people use pancetta or bacon.

I think what you are thinking of is cacio e pepe.

 

[taxlady]

There are four "Roman pasta dishes". I'm surprised that there isn't a fifth one, like cacio e pepe, but including egg yolk.

The Four Famous Roman Pasta Dishes - Food Tours

Food Tours Rome: T. +39.3294166336 - Enjoy Localaromas.com! Read all about Rome's iconic four pasta dishes. Discover the origins of carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana and gricia, and find out how to make them in the authentic Roman way.

www.localaromas.com

 

[KatyCooks]

Why not?

Sorry for slow reply CharlieD, but it looks like others have said the same thing. I think Carbonara is one of those recipes (like Spaghetti Bolognese) that causes a lot of furore over what is the "authentic" or "proper" recipe and I would never do it!

 

[Andy M.]

Sorry for slow reply CharlieD, but it looks like others have said the same thing. I think Carbonara is one of those recipes (like Spaghetti Bolognese) that causes a lot of furore over what is the "authentic" or "proper" recipe and I would never do it!

Katy, I don't agree. Carbonara is simple and its ingredients are widely acknowledged. Guanciale, egg, cheese, pepper. I make the recipe with bacon rather than guanciale but refer to it as 'sorta carbonara'.

What frosts me is the destruction of Alfredo. Now any white sauce is Alfredo.

 

[taxlady]

Katy, I don't agree. Carbonara is simple and its ingredients are widely acknowledged. Guanciale, egg, cheese, pepper. I make the recipe with bacon rather than guanciale but refer to it as 'sorta carbonara'.

What frosts me is the destruction of Alfredo. Now any white sauce is Alfredo.

I certainly agree about the Alfredo sauce. It's butter and parm. It's not something you can buy in a jar. Good grief, is the English language really so insufficient that we can't think of a better name for white (pasta) sauces?

 

[dragnlaw]

Now here is a good write-up on the 'in'famous pasta - the truth about Alfredo

aside from what is written here, I always thought of 'Alfredo' as a non-tomato sauce for pasta. I never really thought about what it was made of. As long as it was not red from tomatoes - it worked for me.

 

[medtran49]

I certainly agree about the Alfredo sauce. It's butter and parm. It's not something you can buy in a jar. Good grief, is the English language really so insufficient that we can't think of a better name for white (pasta) sauces?

Yes, like Parmesan cheese sauce.

 

[dragnlaw]

truly, further to what I said previously - I think in North America 'Alfredo' is considered any white cheesy pasta sauce and has become the common name for such.

Much like "zipper" lost its brand name and all brands are now recognized as 'zippers'. (actually 'Zipper' as a "brand" was never patented, so other brands were free to use the name as well, hard lesson to learn, eh?)
When I was young - you asked for a kleenex - didn't matter the brand name, but now people have learned and do refer to 'tissues' and I think that is also just hard advertising using the word.
note aside... I can remember the stunned feeling/look I had when I asked for a kleenex and was told, "Sorry, I don't have any but I have some Scotties." WHA??

 

[Andy M.]

truly, further to what I said previously - I think in North America 'Alfredo' is considered any white cheesy pasta sauce and has become the common name for such.

Much like "zipper" lost its brand name and all brands are now recognized as 'zippers'. (actually 'Zipper' as a "brand" was never patented, so other brands were free to use the name as well, hard lesson to learn, eh?)
When I was young - you asked for a kleenex - didn't matter the brand name, but now people have learned and do refer to 'tissues' and I think that is also just hard advertising using the word.
note aside... I can remember the stunned feeling/look I had when I asked for a kleenex and was told, "Sorry, I don't have any but I have some Scotties." WHA??

Agreed, Zipper, Kleenex, Xerox, etc. are all brand names that have become synonymous with the typical product regardless of who made it. I don't have an issue with anyone named Alfredo making a parm reg and butter sauce and calling it alfredo sauce. My issue is using the name when the sauce doesn't even come close to the real thing. Also, it's food related which is more important to me than copiers and zippers.

 

[dragnlaw]

Again, I agree Andy, but sometimes people grow up learning something (in the food world) that is wrong and nothing like what the original name is/was/means. Like making a white sauce and adding parm - to some that IS Alfredo and have been told that all their lives.

Remember when I told y'all about thinking bread fried in bacon fat was called French Toast. Because that was what my mother called it! Mind you, she obviously knew it wasn't because she always had this funny little smile on her face - but we never knew! Don't know how old I was - in my 20's I think - before I found out it wasn't. I don't know about my siblings, perhaps they weren't as gullible as I was.

 

[taxlady]

Pepsi and Coca Coal, both of those names get used for random colas. Heck, in the South, any soft drink is a coke. I remember ordering, very specifically, a Coca Cola. The server brought my soft drink and I learned that I can smell the difference bettween Coke and Pepsi. I asked her if my drink was a Pepsi and she said, yes it was. I asked if she would please replace it with a Coca Cola. She said they didn't have any. She could and did replace it with a ginger ale. I just wish she had told me right away when I ordered it that they only had pepsi.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Himself prefers Coke (Zero) over Pepsi. He accepts Pepsi grudgingly if a restaurant serves Pepsi products. I keep offering to put a can of Coke Zero into my purse. The next time his choice is Pepsi, he could tell the server he'd rather have the Coke and just bring a glass with ice as I pull the can from my purse.

 

[Andy M.]

Again, I agree Andy, but sometimes people grow up learning something (in the food world) that is wrong and nothing like what the original name is/was/means. Like making a white sauce and adding parm - to some that IS Alfredo and have been told that all their lives.

Remember when I told y'all about thinking bread fried in bacon fat was called French Toast. Because that was what my mother called it! Mind you, she obviously knew it wasn't because she always had this funny little smile on her face - but we never knew! Don't know how old I was - in my 20's I think - before I found out it wasn't. I don't know about my siblings, perhaps they weren't as gullible as I was.

I understand. My mom made the best potato dish. Cooked sliced potatoes bathed in butter and tossed with parsley and caramelized onions and baked. She called them Lyonnaise potatoes. So did I. It wasn't until much later that I realized they we close to Lyonnaise but not really.

 

[medtran49]

Pepsi and Coca Coal, both of those names get used for random colas. Heck, in the South, any soft drink is a coke. I remember ordering, very specifically, a Coca Cola. The server brought my soft drink and I learned that I can smell the difference bettween Coke and Pepsi. I asked her if my drink was a Pepsi and she said, yes it was. I asked if she would please replace it with a Coca Cola. She said they didn't have any. She could and did replace it with a ginger ale. I just wish she had told me right away when I ordered it that they only had pepsi.

I'm like that too. Most places when you order a Coke bring you whatever they have, though it seems like more places are asking lately. I don't really care, but Craig does. It's Diet Coke or ice tea or water. Not Pepsi or even Coke Zero.