One of my all time favorite dishes is spaghetti alla carbonara. If you are on a diet, this would not be a dish for you. However, since calories don’t count on vacation, I was in search of the best carbonara Italy had to offer.
Spaghetti alla carbonara is spaghetti pasta with a creamy sauce made with black pepper, crispy pancetta, cream, butter and a nearly raw egg. The egg is supposed to be mixed in at the very end as the sauce is cooling, so the egg doesn’t scramble.
However, we found that the” tourist effect” seems to be impacting the way traditional Italian food is cooked in Italy.
The first time we had carbonara was in Lake Como. When it was served I almost sent it back. The egg was visibly overcooked. It was like pasta with scrambled eggs. Sounds gross, right? Rex enjoyed it. When I asked the waiter why, he said that the traditional carbonara was usually sent back because tourist didn’t like the thought of the egg raw, so now they cook it through. Please people, try something new.
The second time was in Santa Margherita. Now, the carbonara was only slightly over cooked. But you could still see the bits of scrambled egg in the dish. By this point I honestly didn’t believe I would actually find descent carbonara anywhere in Italy.
Finally, in Venice, I saw carbonara on the menu and almost didn’t order it. I asked the waiter how they made their carbonara and he described what I expected from the dish. So, I took a chance and ended up with carbonara made the traditional way and it was great. We are actually considering going back tonight to have it again. However, I think we will go to another restaurant and see how their carbonara is.
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