FOOD NEWS
The Key Ingredient Difference Between Amatriciana And Carbonara
BY RYAN CASHMAN
The Italian pasta dishes carbonara and amatriciana have many overlapping ingredients and are even prepared similarly, but the two sauces differ in a few major ways.
Amatriciana and carbonara both use guanciale (cured pork jowl), Pecorino cheese, black pepper, and pasta water. Carbonara also incorporates eggs for a creamy texture.
Meanwhile, amatriciana adds tomatoes to balance out the saltiness of the pork and cheese. This means amatriciana is a tomato sauce while carbonara is more like a cheese sauce.
Carbonara sauce is made by carefully mixing raw eggs (whole or just the yolks) with Pecorino, cooked guanciale, pepper, and pasta water to create a velvety sauce.
Pasta amatriciana begins by cooking the guanciale and onion together in a pan. After that, simply add tomatoes, pasta water, Pecorino, and pepper to complete the sauce.