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With a celebrated food culture, Italy is known for protecting its culinary traditions even as many of its recipes have transcended borders.
So some food lovers may be surprised that pasta brand Barilla is shaking up one of Italy’s best-known dishes: carbonara.
Coinciding with National Carbonara Day April 6, Barilla has launched an initiative called Open Carbonara, which offers up a cross-cultural rendition of the Italian classic. Created by Publicis Italy, the campaign promotes food inclusivity, as the brand’s research reveals that 58% of people say they face some form of limitation when it comes to eating.
Traditional carbonara is a dish of Roman origin, prepared with spaghetti, guanciale (cured meat made from pork cheek), pecorino Romano, eggs and pepper. These ingredients mean the dish is not suitable for those who observe halal, kosher, vegan, gluten-free or lactose-free diets.
This issue comes to light in Barilla’s short film, which follows a group of children at an Italian school. When the kids sit down for lunch, most of them are served carbonara, but a few with dietary restrictions receive a different dish—and feel left out among their peers.
One of the girls goes home and tells her dad that she won’t eat carbonara anymore because her friend Gabriele can’t have it. Her father happens to be Michelin-starred chef Marco Martini, and the children’s wish inspires him to create “a much more inclusive carbonara.”
Martini and a team of six international chefs specializing in halal, kosher and vegan cuisines created an alternative version of the classic pasta recipe. Its ingredients are gluten-free spaghetti, saffron, potatoes, celeriac, soy flakes, pepper and olive oil–all curated to preserve the integrity, texture and flavor of the original version.
Barilla has released the recipe to the public through a new platform titled Open Recipes–and it won’t stop with carbonara. The site features 140 pasta recipes suitable for various diets, and the brand will continue to add more alternative versions of traditional dishes that cater to as many dietary needs as possible.
For the next week, Barilla’s Open Carbonara recipe will also be available to try at London’s Darjeeling Express restaurant, recreated by Chef Asma Khan.
