News

NYT ignites Twitter by putting tomato in a carbonara: we show you the original recipe

The newspaper has published a version of the traditional spaghetti carbonara, but with the addition of tomato. We show you how to prepare the original recipe for comparison.

Click here to read the Spanish version.

If talking about the original carbonara recipe is already a real debate about whether to use cream or not, imagine adding a new ingredient to the equation: tomato. The networks are ablaze! This is what happened with a recipe published by The New York Times for spaghetti carbonara with tomato. Using as copy “Tomatoes are not traditional in carbonara, but they give a brilliant flavour to the dish”, the tweet accumulated almost 1,000 likes and numerous responses criticising this statement that “should be illegal”, according to one user.

Something similar happened a few months ago with another pasta carbonara recipe by Gordon Ramsey, in which he included peas, among other ingredients, or with the paella version by Dabiz Muñoz.

Traditional recipe for pasta carbonara

To put your mind at rest, here is the original recipe for pasta carbonara, which mainly includes three ingredients.

Ingredients:

  • Eggs
  • Bacon guanciale or pancetta
  • Pecorino Romano cheese
  • Pepper
  • Spaghetti

Preparation:

  • Boil water in a lightly salted pot, while you cut the guanciale into strips and grate the pecorino cheese on the side.
  • In a hot frying pan, brown the guanciale until slightly crispy but not burnt. Drain on absorbent paper and set aside.
  • Separate the yolks from the eggs and beat them. Mix well with the grated cheese.
  • Boil the pasta until al dente.
  • Put the pasta in the pan with the guanciale and mix well.
  • Then add the egg and cheese and mix well again.
  • Serve on a plate with a sprinkling of grated cheese and buon appetito!