Italy celebrates Carbonara Day

Rome: Carbonara, one of the signature dishes of Roman cuisine, was celebrated in Italy and around the world with the annual #CarbonaraDay on Wednesday.

There was a virtual marathon of carbonara-themed events on the day which is also a good excuse to visit your favourite trattoria for a bowl of the much-loved Roman dish with five essential ingredients: pasta, guanciale, pecorino, egg, pepper.

CarbonaraDay, organised by the Italian Food Union and the International Pasta Organisation since 2017, features a series of online culinary events, with the chance to follow the carbonara recipes of top chefs live from your own kitchen.

Over the last six years the annual celebration has become the world’s largest “spaghetti social” online, with more than 1.6 million Instagram posts containing the hashtag #Carbonara.

The 2022 event can be followed on social media via #CarbonaraDay with fans posting live video recipes and sharing their opinions, photos and tips on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

But what are the origins of the classic dish which can be found in Italian restaurants all over the world? The answer is slightly hazy.

To some, the name suggests a connection to the coal-workers, or carbonari, of the Lazio and Abruzzo regions, with the black pepper used to season the dish thought to resemble coal dust.

This would indicate that the carbonara was first created in the mid-19th century.

However another theory suggests that the dish arrived in Rome during world war two when American troops brought their army rations of bacon and eggs to the Italian capital.

Some of Rome’s best “carbonara restaurants” include Flavio al Velavevodetto in Testaccio, Armando al Pantheon in the historic centre, Da Enzo al 29 in Trastevere, and Da Danilo in the Esquilino area.