White Sauce for Pasta: Alfredo vs Carbonara

I first heard the word "carbonara" from a classmate back when I was in elementary. At the time, I had no idea what that was, all I knew was that it was a kind of spaghetti dish. As I started experimenting in the kitchen, I came up with a recipe, cream, cheese, and milk, that I called carbonara, bless my heart, which I so firmly believed it to be. Then, later on, when we finally had paid cable at home, I watched a cooking show, I think it was Nigella Lawson's but I forgot exactly which one, and she made that similar dish but to my surprise, she used eggs and cheese. So to enlighten us a little bit...

Filipino Concept of Pasta (Spaghetti) Dishes

Spaghetti - as the name suggests, this dish uses spaghetti noodles topped with tomato-based meat sauce (to the effect of Bolognese) characterized by a sweet and slightly spicy taste. Now the meat sauce can sometimes contain, hotdogs, sausages, ham, etc. And depending on availability or the amount of spaghetti to be produced, ketchup may be an extender. On top of the sauce is a sprinkle of cheese most commonly cheddar.

Carbonara - most commonly known as white spaghetti (to the effect of Alfredo) sauced with either milk or cream base, meat (either ground pork/beef or bacon bits), and occasionally button mushrooms.

But what exactly is the difference between Carbonara and Alfredo?
*Wait... there's a difference?!*

Pasta Definitions

Alfredo - or more commonly known as Fettuccine Alfredo. It is a pasta dish made from fettuccine pasta tossed with Parmesan cheese and butter

"The Alfredo sauce originated at a restaurant owned by Alfredo de Lelio in Rome back in 1914. It was said that He created a special light dish for his pregnant wife when she could not tolerate heavy tomato sauces. The original Alfredo was egg fettuccine with butter and Parmigiano cheese. Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks often stopped into his establishment which in turn attracted other Hollywood actors and the dish was talked about and recreated in America with the addition of heavy cream." [1]

Carbonara - is an Italian pasta dish is based on eggs, cheese (Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano), bacon (guanciale or pancetta), and black pepper.

"As the name is derived from Carbonaro (the Italian word for charcoal burner), some believe the dish was first made as a hearty meal for Italian charcoal workers. The etymology gave rise to the term "coal miner's spaghetti", which is used to refer to spaghetti ala carbonara in parts of the United States. It has even been suggested that it was created by, or as a tribute to, the Carbonari ("charcoal men"), a secret society prominent in the unification of Italy. It seems more likely that it is an urban dish from Rome." [2]


Spaghetti -  is a long, thin, cylindrical pasta of Italian origin. Spaghetti is made of semolina or flour and water. Italian dried spaghetti is made from durum wheat semolina, but outside of Italy, it may be made with other kinds of flour. Traditionally, most spaghetti was 50 cm (20 in) long, but shorter lengths gained in popularity during the latter half of the 20th century and now spaghetti is most commonly available in 25–30 cm (10–12 in) lengths. A variety of pasta dishes are based on it, from spaghetti ala Carbonara or garlic and oil to spaghetti with tomato sauce, meat and other sauces.
Spaghetti is the plural form of the Italian word spaghetto, which is a diminutive of spago, meaning "thin string" or "twine."

What is this heavy, creamy sauce then?

Looking at definitions here, it seems that neither of the two sauces comprise of the heavy cream or milk that we Filipinos have grown accustomed to in white spaghetti. Then upon more scouring on the web, I stumbled upon another white sauce which perfectly describes our beloved white sauce. A far cry from the two other sauces I've thus discussed but is a staple for Lasagne dishes. The Béchamel sauce. But what is this Béchamel sauce that I speak of...

Béchamel sauce (English: /bɛʃəˈmɛl, beɪʃəˈmɛl/[1] French: [beʃamɛl]), also known as white sauce, is one of the mother sauces of French cuisine and is used in many recipes of Italian cuisine, for example lasagne. It is used as the base for other sauces (such as Mornay sauce, which is Béchamel with cheese). [3]

But whatever the sources or origins. We don't really need to get into the nitty-gritty of the details to enjoy a nice creamy/cheesy pasta dish now do we? As long as you make one to suit your, and your loved ones' taste, then all is good. We all have our family secret recipes right?

And now... let me share my own favorite Carbonara recipe :) Enjoy!

Silak's Adapted Carbonara Recipe

Ingredients:

500g Pasta (Spaghetti, fettuccine, or linguine will do fine)
350g grated cheese (if you can find parmesan great, but any grocery available cheese will do)
5 cloves garlic (minced)
250 g ground meat (again, depends on what is available, sausages, pecorino ham,  or plain ground pork)
2 tbsp butter
2 medium-sized eggs (beaten together)
ground black pepper
salt

Procedure:

1. Cook the pasta in salt water. Make sure that the water tastes like seawater to ensure that the pasta seeps in a little bit of the flavor. When the pasta is just about al dente (make sure that it does not quite reach the al dente state, it has to be a little bit hard to bite but already flexible), drain and runs through cold water to arrest the cooking process. Drain and set aside.

2. Melt butter over medium heat in a sauce pan. As soon as the butter is liquefied, add the garlic, continue to cook under medium heat. Do not turn up the heat and take your time with the garlic to ensure that the garlic infuses the butter with flavor. Once the butter appears clear and the garlic soft enough, add the ground meat.

3. Sauté the meat with the garlic until the meat releases some of its own oils. At this point, start adding the ground cheese by the tablespoonful. The cheese should melt as you keep stirring. Add water
(1/4 cup at a time) to help with the melting process. Continue adding cheese and water until all the cheese has been incorporated. You should end with a thick soup-like consistency.

4. Place the same pot where you cooked the pasta in over medium heat, put in the pasta, and pour in the cheese sauce. Mix and make sure that the pasta is evenly coated. This should take about 5 minutes, then turn heat to very low.

5.  Mix in the eggs and make sure that the pasta is evenly coated. Keep mixing to avoid the eggs from curdling. Once you get the smooth creamy consistency of the pasta, remove it from heat but continue mixing.

6. Sprinkle with black pepper and make sure that the pepper bits are visible.