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We’ve always made Spaghetti alla Carbonara the ‘with cream‘ way thinking that we were doing it right (i.e. the authentic way), but we were so wrong as you will see in the authentic recipe below. Well, it really doesn’t matter because whenever we cook Giada de Laurentiis’s Chicken Carbonara, it was well-received. And that’s important. No matter how gourmet your food is, if none of your guests like it — what’s the point, right? However, it still is good to experience the real thing.

Early last week I found a link from Tastespotting pointing to the Virtual Group of Italian Chef’s page about the International Day of Italian Cuisines: January 17. [It's also my parents' wedding anniversary...not that we have the slightest of Italian lineage, but I just wanted to give a shout out to my folks who read this. Happyversary! :-)] On the GVCI site, this was posted:

For one day, everyone who makes, promotes or simply loves Italian food outside of Italy is invited to carry out a small activity to celebrate authenticity and quality in Italian cuisine.

This unprecedented celebration is led by over 130 Italian chefs and restaurateurs in 35 countries. They belong to itchefs-gvci, (Virtual Group of Italian Chefs) and will cook Pasta alla Carbonara according to the original, authentic recipe. This simple dish, a pillar of Italian gastronomy, is in fact the symbol of counterfeit Italian cuisine in the world at large. The International Day of Italian Cuisines, under the aegis of itchefs-gvci, is born of a desire to redress this imbalance.

Authentic Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Of course, being the newly fashioned Me-Too person that I am, I told Dan we’ll join in.

I doubled the serving-for-one recipe for our dinner and the pasta we ended up with was very tasty and creamy. I did not miss the cream, but Dan did. I think I put way too much cheese because it tasted a bit sharp. This recipe made me cry out load for a kitchen digital scale, because the ingredient measurements were in grams. I had to make estimates throughout the recipe.  That’s ok…you keep learning in the kitchen.

Here is the recipe posted on the itchefs-gvci.com site that I followed for this dish. We used pancetta because we couldn’t find guanciale, two eggs for the doubled recipe, and Parmigiano Reggiano for the cheese.

It’s really easy to make –

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara
Recipe from itchefs-gvci.com

Ingredients to serve one portion

60 to 80gm spaghetti freshly cooked al dente
1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
30gm flat pancetta or guanciale
1 or 2 eggs
25 gm freshly grated Pecorino Romano and/or aged Italian Grana Cheese (Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano)
freshly grounded black pepper

Procedure

* Mix the beaten egg with grated cheese and grounded black pepper
* Slice the pancetta 7 to 10 mm thick and cut in 2 cm rectangular bites
* Slowly fry the pancetta in the extra virgin olive oil in a non stick pan until crispy. If the pancetta has enough fat you will not need to add oil
* Add the spaghetti with some of the cooking water, do not fry the spaghetti but rather just let it absorb the flavour of the pancetta
* Simmer gently until the water is almost gone
* Remove the pan from the stove
* Add the egg, cheese and pepper mixture to the pasta and stir quickly making sure the egg does not overcook but remains creamy. It shouldn’t pass the 70-72 C˚ (158-162 F˚) temperature, which is the point at which its coagulation starts
* Place in a hot pasta bowl
* Season with grounded black pepper
* Serve immediately
* Offer more black pepper and more grated cheese at the table

REMARKS
1. You cannot make a Carbonara with pre-cooked pasta
2. Cream is not an option but a gimmick, avoid it
3. If you like, you can mix the two cheeses
4. Timing is important when you serve this dish
5. Make sure the plate or bowl is hot
6. Do not overcook the egg, otherwise you will make spaghetti with scrambled egg.