
The French pseudo-carbonara that has provoked outrage in Italy is merely one episode in a larger pasta revolution sweeping Europe and America.CREDITPHOTOGRAPH BY SIMON REDDY / ALAMY
Last week, a French food Web site, having sold a piece of its soul to the Italian pasta manufacturer Barilla, put out a jaunty little video showing the creation of a French-style carbonara. It was made with bowtie noodles (technically, farfalle; your mother called them bowtie noodles), chopped onion, and cubed bacon, all dropped together into a pan and simmered with a small amount of water for a short time over low heat. An unseen hand then adds some crème fraîche and some unspecified cheese and pepper, then mixes it all together, garnishes it with a raw egg yolk and sprigs of parsley, and there you have—or, rather, don’t have—a pasta carbonara.