carbonara

[kahr-buh-nahr-uh, kahr-baw-nah-rah]

noun

Italian Cooking.

1. a sauce or dressing for spaghetti, usually containing minced prosciutto or pancetta, egg yolks, and grated cheese.

Word History and Origins

Origin of carbonara¹

1960–65; < dialectal Italian ( alla ) carbonara literally, in the manner of the charcoal pit (compare Late Latin carbonaria brazier; Carbonari ); perhaps in reference to the use of leftover grilled meat in the sauce

Example Sentences

Italians often get angry when foreigners tinker with their food recipes - pizza with pineapple, cappuccino after midday or carbonara with cream, for example.

From BBC

The foreboding carbonara was brewing in my mind — enticed by ingredients of splendid quality; guanciale, pecorino and fresh eggs.

From Salon

The pasta itself is nowhere near the same quality as fresh, homemade carbonara.

From Salon

Typical dishes include tortellini in broth from the northern Emilia region, spaghetti alla carbonara from central regions around Rome, and pasta alla Norma in Sicily.

From Reuters

These things are not unrelated, because the person inferring this was a waiter advising me to just order the pasta carbonara already.

From Salon