“Agrodolce” means literally “sour and sweet” in Italian. In Italian cooking, the term refers to a sauce, usually based on vinegar and sugar, with wine added, and often onions. It can be very chunky and so full of ingredients it almost appears to be a relish; or it can be a thin sauce. In fact,…
Carbonara sauce is a sauce for pasta. The basic ingredients in Carbonara Sauce are eggs, cheese and pork fat. Throughout most of Italy pancetta is used as the pork element, except in Rome, where pork jowl (“Guancial”) is sometimes used. Cooking Tips If you use pancetta, bear in mind that pancetta is much saltier than…
Passata is a medium-thick, pourable, uncooked red tomato sauce made from crushed and strained tomatoes. It has almost the same consistency as tomato ketchup. The thickness of the sauce is owing to the high-quality paste-type tomatoes that are used (as opposed to watery, slicing-type tomatoes.) To make passata, tomatoes are passed (thus the name) through…
If a recipe calls for a jar of pasta sauce, and doesn’t qualify “pasta sauce” further, assume the writer means a tomato-based pasta sauce. Pasta sauces can also be creamy, or oil-based, etc. One of the most misunderstood pasta sauces is the white creamy sauce known as “Alfredo Sauce”, which doesn’t actually exist as a…
Pearà is a thick bread sauce made in the Veneto region of Italy, usually served with boiled meats such as bollito misto. It is made from bread crumbs, beef marrow, butter or olive oil, ground pepper and broth, simmered slowly for 2 to 3 hours/ You start with equal amounts of butter and bone marrow…
Pesto is an Italian word for a thick, ground, herbal preparation used as a sauce. Most non-Italians think of it as a green sauce made from basil. That is in fact, however, just one type of Pesto. Other Pestos can be red from tomatoes in their recipes, or even white, as they are based on…
Pesto Modenese is an uncooked, thick, creamy white spread. It is made from lard, garlic, and rosemary. Unlike the green pesto made from basil that is served with pasta, Pesto Modenese is served with warm bread. It is used as a filling for crescentine rolls tigelle, and borlenghi, and can also be used as a…
Of course you can make your own pizza sauce, and you likely will want to if you are going to the bother of making a pizza at home (as opposed to ring and bring.) But when you encounter a non-pizza recipe calling for pizza sauce, chances are that what is meant is a store-bought, tomato-based…
