Italians flocked to her Facebook page to express their disgust at her choice of ingredients. Photo / Getty
By Helena Horton
Beloved chef Nigella Lawson is known for her sumptuous, indulgent yet easy recipes and never shies away from luxuriantly pouring in cream.
This is a fact well-known about the UK's culinary treasure - but Italians appear to be unimpressed by her excess.
The cook has upset Italians to the point of outrage after posting her popular carbonara recipe on her Facebook page.
• Scroll down for Nigella's controversial recipe
She has been told that her cookery is a "disgrace" and she may as well "make it with turkey twizzlers" after posting her recipe which contains nutmeg, wine and cream on her page.
Ms Lawson wrote: "I think spaghetti carbonara is what Meryl Streep cooks for Jack Nicholson in the film version of one of my favourite books, "Heartburn", and it is so right, for that chin-dripping, love-soaked primal feast, the first time someone actually stays through the night."
Italians flocked to her Facebook page to express their disgust at her choice of ingredients.
READ MORE: • The best pasta recipes from bite.co.nz
One Italian raged: "Nigella you are a wonderful woman but your recipes are the DEATH of Italian recipes,literally!NO CREAM IN CARBONARA NEVER,only eggs."
Another instructed: "Uova, Pecorino, Guanciale, Pepe, Arte.
"L'arte della cucina Italiana non è un modo di pensare.
"The art of Italian cooking is not a way of thinking."
One fan was saddened one of his favourite chefs did not follow the traditional Italian recipe.
He wrote: "I love Nigella more than any Michelin starred chef. 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."
Another Italian fumed: "This is a recipe of yours, it's not Carbonara. No wine, no cream and egg yolks only in Italian real Carbonara".
And another said: "The cream in the Carbonara is an outrage to Italian cuisine".
Nigella Lawson is known for putting a British twist on Italian recipes; she has said one of her favourite dishes is Marmite spaghetti.
This isn't the first time a British chef has caused outrage with a pasta recipe.
Mary Berry angered viewers by putting cream and white wine instead of red in her bolognese sauce.
However, it turned out this was actually close to the traditional recipe.
500 grams spaghetti
275 grams cubed pancetta (or lardons)
2 teaspoons olive oil
60 millilitres dry white wine (or vermouth)
4 large eggs
50 grams parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
black pepper
60 millilitres double cream
freshly grated nutmeg
• Method
Put a large pan of salted water on to boil for the pasta. Cut the pancetta into 1 x 1.5cm / ½ x ¼ inch cubes. If the pancetta has its rind on, cut it off - and use a bigger piece of pancetta, as the amount I've specified is for the prepared cubes - and put the rind in a pan with a film of oil and cook it gently to render down.
Then in a large pan that will fit the pasta later, cook the pancetta cubes in the oil until crispy but not crunchy. Chuck over them the white wine or vermouth and let it bubble away so that, after a few minutes, you have a small amount of salty winey syrup left. Take the pan off the heat.
In a bowl, beat together the eggs, Parmesan, cream and some pepper. Cook the pasta more or less according to the packet instructions, but since you want it kept al dente start checking it 2 minutes before the wrapper says it's done. Lower in a cup and remove approximately 125ml / ½ cup of the pasta water before draining. Put the other pan, the one with the bacon cubes, on the heat and add the drained pasta, tossing well to coat with the syrupy pancetta. Add a little of the reserved pasta water to lubricate if necessary.
Take the pan off the heat again and add the eggs and cheese mixture, swiftly tossing everything to mix. Grind over some more pepper and grate over the nutmeg, carry proudly aloft, and dive in.
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