Carbonara
Rome, Italy
Carbonara is one of Rome's defining pasta dishes, built around guanciale, Pecorino Romano, eggs and black pepper. The traditional Roman preparation gets its creamy texture from the eggs, cheese and starchy pasta water rather than cream. Expect a rich, salty and peppery dish with crisp-edged pieces of guanciale throughout.
If you're trying it for the first time in Rome, carbonara is a good introduction to the city's style of cooking: a small number of familiar ingredients, carefully balanced rather than hidden under a complicated sauce. The exact origin of carbonara is uncertain, so the famous stories about its beginnings are better treated as culinary lore than established history.
Why locals eat it
Carbonara is one of the most representative dishes of Roman cuisine, but its exact origins remain disputed. Turismo Roma notes several competing origin stories, including links to older cheese-and-egg dishes and to the period around the Second World War. What is much less disputed is the modern Roman combination: guanciale, Pecorino Romano, eggs and black pepper, traditionally without cream.
Local tip
For a traditional Roman-style carbonara, look for guanciale, Pecorino Romano, egg and black pepper, with the sauce made creamy through the pasta's residual heat and starchy water. If a restaurant uses cream, that is a variation rather than the traditional Roman preparation.
Typically made with
spaghetti, guanciale, egg yolk, Pecorino Romano, black pepper. Recipes vary — always check with the vendor if you have allergies.