'New York Times' recipe for carbonara could spark US-Italy war

From horrifying Brits over an American-style version of the English Breakfast to seemingly discovering electric kettles for the first time, The New York Times hasn't shied away from confusing people over food and cooking appliances.

But now, the outlet has released a carbonara recipe – and it might just spark a war between the US and Italy.

The pasta dish originated in Rome and is made with eggs and hard cheese (Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or both), which creates a cream consistency, all twirled up with cured pork and black pepper.

However, on Sunday (29 January), the Times took to Twitter to share a link to their recent article about making the dish – and they added tomatoes to it to bring a “bright tang to the dish.”

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Called “Smokey Tomato Carbonara,” the Times’ recipe calls for the following ingredients:

• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2 large eggs and 4 large egg yolks (room temperature
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (add more while serving)
• 6 ounces of thick-cut smoked bacon. Cut them into ¼-inch-thick pieces
• 2 tablespoons of tomato
• 8 ounces cherry tomatoes, cut into halves

Once people saw the recipe online, they were quick to mock the recipe, thinking that it should be a crime to change the dish up.

Some even suggested that there are “rules” to making the savoury pasta dish and how this could spark a war.

One person wrote: “Breaking: Italian PM Georgia Meloni declares war on US, stating ‘pasta la vista.’”

“Why does the NYTimes think adding eggs to an Amatriciana (made incorrectly without guanciale) makes it a carbonara? Just say it’s a different dish. There’s also no pecorino, the traditional cheese for carbonara. Carbonara is a 4 ingredient dish & you’re missing 2!” another added.

A third wrote: “I don’t know what this is, but I can guarantee you that is not carbonara. In Italian cuisine, there are rules, you know. You aren’t even allowed to add cream and call it carbonara.”

Someone else simply wrote: “No. Do that, and it is no longer carbonara. Nope nope, nope.”

Check out other reactions below.

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