For The Love Of Pasta – Pasta Carbonara, It Is
Do you have any secret food vices, the craves for something you shouldn’t eat? Here, I don’t have a problem sharing my secret – my secret crush is pasta.
Why is that a secret crush? Well, you really not supposed to like it. Pasta = Carbs, and Carbs = Bad For You. You don’t have to be Atkins or Keto aficionado – the message about the negative effect of carbs affecting one’s weight and overall health can be loudly heard everywhere. “Ahh, I stopped eating carbs and sugar, and I lost 30 lb and feel great!” And while I understand it, I’m always ready to embrace my secret indulgence – when making evening dinner plans, I’m quietly hoping someone in the family will say “how about pasta”? There is an ultimate level of comfort and pleasure in the simplicity of a properly boiled pasta (al dente) with or without a sauce (just give me some fresh Parmesan, don’t need even the sauce).
The reason is this “secret” is getting out now is simple. A few days ago I saw a post from Gambero Rosso that on April 6th we will be celebrating first ever #CarbonaraDay. Pasta Carbonara is one of my favorite ways to eat pasta, especially since discovering the Pasta Carbonara recipe by famous New York Chef, restaurateur, and Food Network’s Chopped judge, Marc Murphy.
There is never a single recipe for a dish – no matter if the recipe is attributed as “classic”, “best” or “authentic”, there will be lots of variations making the same claim. Pasta Carbonara is no exception – lots of variations exist with heavy cream, peas, other vegetables and so on. What I love about Marc Murphy’s recipe is its rustic simplicity. Four basic ingredients (pasta, bacon, eggs, cheese), about 20 minutes for both preparation and cooking – and delicious meal the family can enjoy. I will not repeat the recipe in this post, you can find it at the link I shared, together with Marc’s story.
Can we have food without wine? Of course, but this is not very likely in this blog, especially if we are talking about an Italian dish. My decision to pair Pasta Carbonara with 2010 Cosimo Taurino Notarpanaro Negroamaro Rosso Salento IGP was not something long planned – I simply had a bottle open from the day before, and thus it was an easy decision. Negroamaro Salento might be one of the most food-friendly wines – those wines are usually supple and generous with fruit without going overboard, tannins are well integrated, earthy notes are quite noticeable, and acidity brings everything together – in this particular case, the wine was complementing pasta very well, enhancing the pleasure of every bite and sip.
Here you are, my friends, my Pasta Carbonara experience for the first #CarbonaraDay. I told you about my secret food crush – what about you? Cheers!
Leave a Reply
Last Bottle Sign Up ($10 credit)
Talk-A-Vino 
Made me hungry 🙂 and made me think of this:
got a few good laughs out of that one
Carbonara is one of my favorite dishes. I am glad you are advocating carbonara the way it should be, although I’d say freshly cracked black pepper is essential.
Carbs aren’t bad for you, what is bad is ingesting more calories in whatever form than you need. Some people find it easier to restrict calories by leaving out carbs or by periodic fasting, and that is the main reason why such diets work for them.
The pepper was mentioned in the actual recipe, of course – I just didn’t include it in the list of main dish elements.
Regarding carbs – I fully agree, my approach to the food is “everything in moderation”, but still, I’m talking about the propaganda which is difficult to hide from. But – may be it makes me crave pasta even more 🙂