Categories: Kids, Quick and easy, Gluten free* use gluten free pasta Carbonara refers to the word carbonari which means “charcoal burners. There are differing explanations as to how this dish was named. The most popular explanation is that it was invented during the American liberation in World War II by a Roman cook who used the American rations of bacon and eggs to make this tasty pasta dish. Another explanation is that this is similar to another dish called cacio e ova (cheese and egg) eaten by charcoal burners when they worked and that the Americans added the bacon to the dish during World War II.