This sauce is packed with flavor. The roasted peppers complement the Italian sausage well. I like to use a mix of peppers, but I find that green bell peppers are too bitter, so I omit them.
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These jumbo pasta shells are the kind of comfort food that I really enjoy cooking. It is the kind of food your Nonna would make on Sunday, and it is both comforting and very tasty.
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Regular readers will know my love for Italian food runs deep, especially for the true comfort dishes practiced and perfected in kitchens by generations of nonnas (Italian grandmothers).
Sunday is a special day when the family comes together for a big meal and while each family has their own traditions of which dishes are served. In the US, the tradition of the Sunday Sauce is essential.
I was given this recipe by a coworker and she said it was her grandmother’s pride and joy. They lived in the North End in Boston and their family had been there for generations.
While this is a marinara base, the key is the slowly braised meats which flavor the sauce and then impart a flavor to the sauce that is beyond delicious. You can also add braciole, lamb necks and/or veal knuckles etc, but this is optional. Bottom line, if you cook anything in a tomato sauce for 4 hours, it will come out great.
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There are many versions of this classic sauce, Ragu Bolognese, which originated in Bologna.
Some use wine, some use milk, some use wine and milk and some only use a bit of tomato paste, but this is my tried and true version. It is epic, but it is definitely not fast food.
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This is classic Neapolitan cuisine. The traditional Pasta Genovese recipe is made with beef, but some Italian Americans make a sausage version. Almost impossible to find either version on a US restaurant menu. Simple food, that is incredible. It’s all about the onions. I was shocked by the amount of onions, but many recipes call for even more. Low and slow is what develops the sweet flavor.
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This was a speciality of Florence’s in Boston’s North End. Florence Romano Foti opened her restaurant in 1974. This was the dish I ordered evert time I went.
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Years ago I had this authentic rustic pasta dish in an old converted farmhouse restaurant near Turin. Loosely translated, Taglierini al Sugo d’Arrosto means “pasta in roast gravy”. It was a very local place and didn’t look like much, but it was packed with truck drivers and a beef roast was cooking in front of an open fire.
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I have probably had this conversation with more people than just about any other subject in Italian cooking. The usual comment is, “Isn’t all dried pasta basically the same”? “Are the imported pastas really worth the extra money”?
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I think Cacio e Pepe is one of my favorite Italian dishes. When I need a pasta fix, this is my go-to recipe.
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Yes, you can make your own mac and cheese and it’s vastly better than store bought. Be creative with your choices of cheese. I’ve used smoked Gouda, Gruyere and even Blue Cheese. There are no solid rules here.
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