National Carbonara Day is taking place worldwide on April 6th, and after a hard year for all, Barilla and Food For Soul founder, Massimo Bottura, are encouraging us to recreate the classic dish and remember its role throughout history, and more importantly, how it has united people in the most unexpected way. So much so, Barilla, the Italian pasta brand, has released a touching short film to shine a light on the heart warming story of how the dish was born.
Legend has it that Carbonara was born unifying different cultures, when in the 1940s a young American soldier and an Italian cook met in Rome and came up with the idea of using military food rations, including American bacon and eggs, and mixing with the Italian pasta to create a more flavorsome and wholesome dish to feed the troops. In doing so, the classic Carbonara was born.
The short film, shot by internationally awarded Belgian director Xavier Mairesse, will launch on April 1stand aims to give a new meaning to the timeless recipe and showing it as a dish that brings people together.
Inspired by this touching story of bringing people together in the most unexpected way, Barilla, who has always believed in the power of pasta to unite all, has put this at the heart of their National Carbonara Day celebration, turning Carbonara into Carebonara, and proving food can bring us all together during the most difficult times.
To unite more people through the love of pasta, Barilla alongside Food For Soul - the non-profit charity founded by chef Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore, will donate one million pasta dishes to the socially vulnerable in Europe, The Americas and Asia.
Massimo Bottura, founder of Food For Soul said: During the grand opening of Refettorio Gastromotiva in Rio de Janeiro, we were facing challenges: water, electricity and gas. Spirits were low to say the least. It seemed impossible to be able to cook anything for our guests. I was reminded of the commitment I had made as Food For Soul founder to those in need and most importantly, our motto: " NO MORE EXCUSES". With that in mind, I was able to see the pile of banana peels in front of me with new eyes. With a bit of creativity, culture, knowledge and a dash of folly, we were able to create an amazing banana peel carbonara pasta. We diced and smoked the banana peels until they tasted like bacon, added Parmigiano cheese we had brought in our suitcases, and were given some Barilla pasta from “Casa Italia”, the Italian Olympic house, to create an unexpected and amazing meal. What I learned from that experience is that a recipe can be an act of solidarity."
Luca Barilla, Vice President of the Barilla Group added: “Massimo Bottura, with his wonderful “Food For Soul”, gave us the opportunity to accomplish, once again, what should be the mission of a good company: to contribute to the well-being of the community. For Barilla, Carebonara has a much more important meaning than simply eating, it is taking care of others by doing it in its own way: celebrating pasta for its great power to unite people".
In challenging times like these, when we need solidarity, simple gestures like making food for others, can make a huge difference. Barilla together with Food For Soul is therefore inviting everyone on 6thApril to join the #CarbonaraDay with the same passion and spirit, and prepare their favourite Carbonara recipe to treat someone they care about.
Eleonora Cozzella Italian pasta expert has also shared her top tips on how you can bring the taste of Italy to your plate –
Cook pasta in a large amount of slightly salted boiling water. Eleonora recommends using rigatoni or mezze maniche pasta for best results
- In the meantime, separate the egg whites from the yolks
- Fry some crispy pork jowl in a pan and put aside
- Using the remaining liquid fat leftover add to the eggs to emulsify
- Add in the cheese with a nice dose of pepper to create a cream
- Add back in the pork
- Mix all together, adding some of the pasta water if necessary, and plate