I’ll never forget the rinsing I got in Year 3 when I went to my Italian friend’s house for dinner for the first time.
My mate’s mum had made us a big, hearty bowl of ragù alla bolognese (which I knew as spag bol).
Her Nonna’s recipe, if my memory serves me right.
It landed in front of me on the dinner table. It smelt delicious, but to my strongly ‘Strayan nostrils, something was missing.
I immediately asked, “Do you have any tomato sauce?!”
To say her family was offended is a gross understatement. It was as if I had kicked the family dog right there at the table. It was also the last time I was invited over to the Palombi’s house for tea.
Turns out Nigella Lawson isn’t immune to the wrath of angry Italians for bastardising their beloved recipes, either.
wen u know ur about to get hot-fire roasted
Lawson posted a recipe for spaghetti alla carbonara to her Facebook page last night, which included a blasphemous ingredient: CREAM.
Adding cream to carbonara is, at least to purists, highly offensive.
In its OG form, carbonara is made with eggs, hard cheese (usually pecorino romano), bacon (guanciale or pancetta), black pepper and pasta. That’s the way it was intended in Rome.
Commenters were quick to blast the English Muffin, explaining that while she’s a “wonderful woman”, she needs to keep her mittens off Italian recipes.
“I love Nigella more than any Michelin starred chef,” wrote one guy, who we can all relate to.“I tried almost every recipe of hers. And of course this one also. It is dee-licious, really. Heavy but heavenly tasting. But it is not Carbonara. Using a name of a well known recipe, adjusting the original ingredients to one’s own taste and even adding others just creates confusion and wrong taste expectations. Yes, we take food very seriously,” he concluded.
Someone please turn the stove down because we are feeling the burneth.
“Nigella I advise you to continue cooking hamburgers, hot dogs, and other foods aloof from Italian cuisine, I feel insulted by what you’ve done carbonara AND WITHOUT PANNA. Please apologize to the Italian people and change the trade Thank you,” wrote another.
Some commenters, though, were keen on Nigella’s riff on the classic.
“I personally do not like “real carbonara” and prefer this with cream much more. It is just more creamy and silky. Gorgeusness!!! [sic]” one wrote.
Our favourite comment goes to a bloke called Robert, who went ahead and wrote what we’re all thinking.
Source: Eater.
Photo: Don Arnold / Getty.
