Pasta alla carbonara and pasta alla puttanesca: staples of central and southern Italian cuisine that, slowly but surely, became common, beloved dishes across the country.

With its creaminess and the luxurious combination of guanciale, egg, black pepper and parmesan, carbonara is decadent and satisfying, so easy to make it is considered in Italy a “student food,” just like ramen is in the US or beans on toast are in the UK.