I love a good carbonara sauce. That’s it, that’s the whole confession.
Now, the rub is, it’s rare to find a good one. It’s a sauce I almost never order on pastas when I’m in the U.S., because invariably it’s made as a cream sauce that just happens to have the classic ingredients of cured pork (either guanciale or pancetta), egg yolk (some folk use whole eggs), cheese (sheep’s milk pecorino and/or parmigiano reggiano), and black pepper (optional garlic, though minimal). Often not even “the right ones”.
It’s not that I’m a rigid traditionalist, and it’s not even that the cream version of the sauce doesn’t have its charms. But for me, it’s simply a different sauce. I once had this online “discussion” with Michael Ruhlmann on the topic (he’s in favor of cream), pointing out that if you took some classic French sauce (something he’s a fairly rigid traditionalist on) that had no cream in it, and added cream to it, it would be a different sauce, and called something else. He couldn’t seem to see how the same applied to an Italian sauce. French food, you know, is codified, it’s been written down, by famous historical chefs and all. Italian food is subject to your grandmother’s interpretation….
And, to some extent he’s right. Carbonara is, in its codified form, a relatively recent dish, only dating back to WWII, though similar dishes of the region are known prior, none combine all its elements as noted above. There’s a great history of the sauce in a quick and easy read in an article in Departures magazine, albeit with some speculation as to origins, without any solid evidence. Some of what they claim is contradicted by a source that I’d give more credence to, Gambero Rosso, which pretty much holds with this being a roughly 70-75 year old recipe.
Now, here in Argentina, there’s a stew called carbonada, which pops up over and over again if you search for the best carbonara in the city, because search engines seem to conflate the two (at least when searched for from within Argentina). It’s made with veal and dried peaches. It’s not a pasta sauce. And when there is a pasta option with carbonara, I’ve been gun-shy. In fact, it’s only been in the last couple of weeks that I’ve decided to hunt down a good one, and that’s the ultimate aim of this particular quest.
Now, the other thing that Argentines do with the sauce is reinterpret it as a pizza topping. It’s not common, but it pops up here and there….
Boniato, Billinghurst 1608, Recoleta – This was the first place I encountered it, back when I was doing my 92 Bus Pizza Trek. My note from then: “It was delicious. Great, crisp, thin, lightly charred crust, good quality and flavorful cheese, sauce with some seasoning, and, the “carbonara” half, which sounded interested from their list of “pizzas diferentes”, with its strips of smoky bacon laid over fresh cracked eggs that had just barely, quiveringly set so they made a lovely, gooey second sauce, was a joy to gobble down.” Highly recommended.
La Guitarrita, Cuba 3300, Nuñez – Although I’ve certainly seen it as options at other places, I hadn’t tried it again until recently. Here, my thoughts were simply: “a carbonara pizza, done beautifully with grilled onions, mozzarella, plenty of bacon, and a couple of near perfectly cooked eggs with set whites and runny yolks.” Highly recommended.
A risotto:
Maria Fedele, Alsina 1465, Monserrat – my thoughts from that dinner: “Who serves risotto after pasta? Really, who does that? These folk do, and course number three is about a two cup portion of carbonara risotto – with cured guanciale and egg yolk sauce, as classic as it gets other than, slightly strangely I thought, an intensely smoked cheese in the mix. I guess that was to complement the excellent wild boar bolognesa (more of a ragú from another region, but that’s fine) atop. I make it through about half of this. It’s really good, but I’m so stuffed already I’m not sure I’m going to be able to get up from the table. There goes the last two weeks of watching what I eat (lost a little over 2 kilos!) and exercise, pre-vacation.” Recommended, if you can make it through the massive quantities of food on the table!
The pastas, because that’s really what it’s all about.
Casa Lucca, Asunción 4167, Villa DeVoto – Pappardelle – “properly made, real Italian one, that wasn’t made with cream. I think for me, this was the hit of the day, just because it was nice to see someone preparing the sauce correctly. 190 pesos.” Could have used some pepper, and a bit more egg yolk for richness, but, recommended.
Il Matterello, Martín Rodriguez 517, La Boca – Fazzoletti (“handkerchief pasta”) – “Amazingly delicate, and the carbonara sauce pretty much perfect.” A touch of black pepper that we added at the table added the slight missing flavor that is more classic. 310 pesos.” Highly recommended.
La Locanda, Pagano 2697, Recoleta – Paccheri (big round tubes) – beautifully done, with proper guanciale in lieu of panceta, and a near perfect egg yolk and cheese sauce, and a light dose of black pepper. I added a drizzle of good olive oil and a touch more pepper – personal tastes and all that. 300 pesos.” Highly recommended.
Quotidiano, Callao 1299, Recoleta – Tagliolini – too al dente for my tastes, no, really, for anyone’s – the first time I’ve had a pasta not cooked properly at this place, it was chewy, bordering on crunchy, in a liquid puddle of sauce that didn’t cling at all. Very salty, using heavily smoked and salted bacon, lots of grated cheese, and a splash of cream or maybe even milk it was so thin, and no pepper. Not a favorite, and surprising, given how good every other pasta I’ve had there has been. Couldn’t eat it all, and it wasn’t the portion size. 211 pesos. I don’t know if it was just a one-off poorly prepared plate, given past experiences there, but this particular dish, not recommended.
Beruti Pizza House, Beruti 2676, Recoleta – it was a rainy day, a really rainy day, and for some reason my brain thought it might be a good idea to try a pasta carbonara from a delivery service. These things happen. On the plus side, the spaghetti cooked al dente, and a decent amount of bacon and cheese, and even a touch of pepper. On the minus side, the spaghetti had been tossed with so much vegetable oil it could have been used for a slippy slide, and whole eggs were basically scrambled and mixed into the pasta. While an okay flavor, the textures of the oil and egg just made it a bit unpleasant to eat. 192 pesos (discounted for the day from 240). Not recommended.
Edit: This “series” continues with a second post.
I think you are confusing CARBONADA (stew) with CARBONARA (sauce with raw yolks). I never heard of garlic (!). It is absolutely creamless for me. There is nothing wrong with experimenting, but there are enough words to make up new sauce names whenever needed.
Sorry, I phrased it badly in the post, I wasn’t confusing them, it’s just that if you search for carbonara, google and other search engines seem to pull up the stew, carbonada just as often (at least when searched for within Argentina). I’m not sure whether it’s a case of assuming that I can’t spell or the sites where carbonada dishes are posted can’t spell, or just assuming that they’re the same thing. AIs are not yet good at distinguishing between similarly spelled things. I’ve rephrased it to reflect what I meant to say… good catch!
I’m with you on the creamless. That’s an American/British affectation to the sauce that has no place in it, even if it can be delicious done that way. I’ve had some versions with garlic – not like chopped garlic in the sauce itself, but I’ve seen chefs infuse a whole lightly crushed garlic clove into the olive oil as it’s warming up, just to give a subtle amount of flavor, and then remove it when they start adding the other ingredients.
I am not sure I am following, as I never used oil to make carbonara. The fat from the pancetta (north) or guanciale (south) melts and thus there is no need to use oil in the pan to sizzle.
I never noticed that they use carbonara as a pizza topping, likely I am filtering anything that’s doesn’t read like a pizza name on a pizza list. ? It looks like runny yolks is coded as “carbonara” sauce here.
However, the only time I asked to a local if he’d like to have carbonara at my place, he joyously replied that also his mother did it. As it sounded too odd, I asked for further details and it was clear they were talking about the stew.
It would be interesting to try the creamy version, now I am curious!
Recently I went at Giulio’s and my husband ordered a plate of pasta with a odd sauce made of cream, garlic and parsley and it was delicious. I asked where it did come from, and Giulio just said it was a cheap dish his mother did.
By the way, Giulio is authentic, good and che cheap. So far, the cheapest authentic Italian restaurant in bs as.
I learned to make it with a splash of olive oil with the guanciale. Not an absolute, and many people don’t use it. Some, on the other hand, throw out the rendered fat, which for me loses all that wonderful flavor. Everyone’s grandmother’s recipe is different, like any good dish.
I wouldn’t rush out to try the cream version, unless you approach it with the wisdom that it’s not going to be carbonara as you know it. I just tried one today that was little more than unseasoned béchamel sauce with some diced bacon in it. Bland. Nearly inedible. Top Italian restaurant.
Are you talking about Trattoria de Giulio on Fitz Roy?
Yes, I am talking about him. I found out about him just recently and tried it once. I was very happy with the food and the bill.
Cool, I’ll add it to my places to check out – it’s one I haven’t been to. Thanks!
Even chefs in Italy have their own versions of it, some of which stray from the most traditional:
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