

Guandali was assigned to serve as a chef to the military troops in Rome for a year. So he put together spaghetti pasta, bacon, eggs, cheese, and black pepper, and the very first carbonara dish was born. Guandali served a pasta dish with what’s available from the American Army rations. On that day, Guandali was tasked to prepare lunch for a meeting between the American and English Army Division in Rome. He created the very first carbonara recipe on September 22, 1944. The most plausible theory that I stumbled upon is that the original carbonara recipe was a creation of one Bolognese chef named Renata Gualandi. What everyone seems to agree on is that the original carbonara recipe came from Rome, Italy. You see, the original recipe of carbonara is still debated. Through my research for the best carbonara recipe, I’ve come across peculiar theories on its origin. Pair the carbonara with freshly made garlic bread and iced tea and you’re eating like a king. I like the more subtle flavors that carbonara brings to the plate and it doesn’t overwhelm the palate while still tasting delicious. The Filipino-style spaghetti is far meatier and has a richer sweet flavor. I myself prefer carbonara over spaghetti, any day of the year. A lot of Filipinos turn to carbonara if they don’t like the sweet taste of the more popular spaghetti. The carbonara dish in the Philippines has a creamier and milky flavor that’s complemented by the salty bits of mixed in the sauce. Other countries around the world also have their own versions of Carbonara. The cheese used in the traditional Carbonara recipe is a choice between permigiano-reggiano and pecorino romano or a combination of both of these cheeses. Other commonly used ingredients for the Filipino-style carbonara that isn’t in the original are onion, garlic, cream, and parmesan cheese. The Philippines’ version of the carbonara recipe is much creamier because of the use of milk in the recipe. But since the pasta dish gained worldwide love and popularity, the recipe has been modified hundreds of times all over the world. You’ll notice that the traditional carbonara recipe uses quite simple ingredients and don’t make the recipe that complicated like most traditional Italian recipes. The traditional recipes for this creamy pasta dish use Italian ingredients like spaghetti or fettuccine pasta, eggs, hard cheese, cured pork, and black pepper. This traditional Italian dish is commonly served in restaurants and increases in popularity during big celebrations like fiestas and especially during the holiday season. Carbonara may not be a Filipino dish, but it’s hugely popular in the Philippines nonetheless.
