I SUGHI PER I PRIMI (SAUCES FOR STARTERS)

Il “Sugo di Carne” – 6 to 8 servings

Difficulty: easy

Time to prepare: 10 minutes, plus 1 hours of cooking time.

Il “Sugo di Carne”, or meat sauce, is the most common type o sauce used for dressing the Tajarin. The meat used is either veal or Italian pork sausage, or a blend of the two. The blend of veal and sausage is what I like best, so this is the one sauce I will describe inhere. Should you prefer to make the veal sauce only, use the same quantity indicated for the veal and the sausage, but put only the veal, or only the sausage. The cooking procedure is exactly the same.

Ingredients

30 gr. of soffritto (click here for how to make soffritto),

200 gr. of ground meat of veal (better), or beef (acceptable)

100 gr. of Italian pork sausage,

20 gr. of extra virgin oil,

50 ml. of white wine,

50 ml of broth of vegetables or of water,

A pinch of salt,

A pinch of pepper.

Preparation

Pour the extra virgin oil in a frying pan and add the soffritto when the oil is hot. Lower the flame and let the soffritto fry for 10-15 minutes: stir from time to time. Add some white wine as necessary and let evaporate. Take the skin off, then smash the sausage, then pour skinned sausage and ground veal into the frying pan. Let gently fry until the meat is brown, then add the salt and the pepper. Lower the flame still, and let the mix cook for another forty minutes. Keep the broth (or the water) warm, and add as required. When cooked, forty minutes later, the sauce is moist, not liquid: moist.

Drain the starters, leaving some cooking water, and gently pour into sauce pan. Return to heat if necessary. Stir. Serve and topple to taste with “Parmigiano Grattugiato” (Grated Parmesan Cheese).

Il “Sugo di Pomodoro” – 6 to 8 servings

This is the preferred “Sugo” for very delicate tasting starters such as the “Ravioli” filled with ricotta and spinach, but also Gnocchi or Tajarin.

Ingredients

10 gr. of soffritto (click here for how to make soffritto),

300 gr. of tomato paste or fresh tomatoes

20 gr. of extra virgin oil,

50 ml. of white wine,

A pinch of salt,

A pinch of pepper.

Preparation

Pour the extra virgin oil in a frying pan and add the soffritto when the oil is hot. The quantity of soffritto, half a tea spoon, say, or one table spoon, will determine how light or strong the sauce will be. Lower the flame and let the soffritto fry for 10-15 minutes: stir from time to time. Add white wine as necessary and let evaporate. If using fresh tomato, scald them first, then peel and cut in small pieces, then add to the soffritto. Add two cloves of garlic and some rosemary and let cook for 40 minutes at low eat.

Drain the starters, leaving some cooking water, and gently pour into sauce pan. Return to heat if necessary. Stir. Serve and topple to taste with “Parmigiano Grattugiato” (Grated Parmesan Cheese).

Il” Sugo al Burro e Salvia” - 6 to 8 servings

Difficulty: easy

Time to prepare: 10 minutes.

Very few recipes are easier than this one to make. This is the butter and sage sauce, used when cooking very light and delicate pasta, gnocchi or agnolotti.

Ingredients

100 gr. of butter

8 to 12 leafs of sage

Preparation

Put the butter in a frying pan and melt slowly. Add the sage and cook, very slowly, for no more than 10 minutes: this is enough time for the flavors to properly blend. Stir occasionally.

Drain the starters, leaving some cooking water, and gently pour into sauce pan. Return to heat if necessary. Stir. Serve and topple to taste with “Parmigiano Grattugiato” (Grated Parmesan Cheese).

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