Bolognese Cannelloni: a classic of Italian Sunday

In Italy Sunday lunch is bigger and longer: Italians do love to sit around a big table together with friends and relatives, eating, drinking good wine and chatting...lunch begins not before 1 pm, and finishes usually around 4 p.m. Sunday is when, after a long working week, all the family gathers around the table, chatting and speaking all together, children run and play happily around the table and everybody feels relaxed.

The lady of the house, usually the mother or grandmother, wakes up earlier than usual, to give the tomato sauce, tomato and meatballs or the bolognese sauce the proper time to simmer....and pasta, lasagne, cannelloni or gnocchi or other shapes of pasta, are usually home made.....a proper ritual!

Sundays lunches in Italy are made of a series of local starters, such as salami, cheeses and little fritters, then a main course of pasta such as cannelloni or lasagne with bolognese sauce or meatballs, followed by a second course of sausages, scallops, roulades and salad (dressed only with oil, vinegar and salt), a dessert or cake, liqueurs and coffee. Everything that is connected to food, in Italy, is a sort of ritual: if we can refer to the food preparation as to "slow cooking" about the lunch itself we can also speak about"slow eating". That is: take it easy!

Bolognese sauce: an Italian treat with its own secrets!

First of all, it's important to underline that what abroad is called as Bolognese sauce, in Italy is merely called ragù or, in better cases, ragù alla bolognese. It's used to make lasagne al ragù or pappardelle, tagliatelle, and also tortellini al ragù. The Bolognese sauce is also used as a stuffing for cannelloni. To make a perfect Bolognese sauce, you need to start from a soffritto made up with minced onion, carrot and celery, that must simmer but not burn or stir fry in a couple of spoons of extra virgin olive oil. You'll have then to add the minced beef, brown it for a while, then you need to add some white wine and simmer until reduced; then it's the time of tomato sauce that, if possible, will have to be homemade. A cup of water and a pinch of salt will complete the work. Now you'll have to cover and simmer for at least 2 hours on a low heat. Forget about it, that's the secret! In 2 hours you'll have a unique, great and classic Italian ragù, provided you don't add any more spices or garlic or whatever else your "foreign imagination will suggest you!

Stuffed cannelloni with Bolognese sauce

Cannelloni are cylindrical and imply the use of a filling, usually bolognese sauce or spinach and ricotta. But you can also fill them in with ham and mushroom, mixed vegetables, a fish sauce, a sausage sauce and many others idea. Bolognese cannelloni are among the most traditional: you'll have to complete the work by adding some bechamel sauce and a generous sprinkle of parmesan or Grana Padano. Don't add any other cheese! 

Carbonara: variations and ideas on an Italian classic

Carbonara: a simple dish with humble origins

The origins of this unique Italian dish date back to the XIX Century, when the "carbonari", that are the charcoal workers, used to bring themselves a couple of poor and simple ingredients for their lunch break: eggs and pork were perfect for a savory and cheap lunch! In America, somebody has translated the name of this recipe, calling it "coal miner's spaghetti": did you know it?

Tricks and tips for a perfect and creamy carbonara

Purists of carbonara suggest that you don't have to add any cream or butter to your carbonara sauce. Of course, it's more difficult to have it perfectly creamy, but its taste will be much closer to the original one. As regards the debate between onion and garlic, you should know that the original carbonara sauce doesn't need any extra ingredient apart from beacon, eggs, pecorino cheese and a generous pinch of black pepper. To have an extremely rich carbonara sauce, the secret is not adding extra ingredients, but managing very well the temperatures: you don't have to cook the eggs, but to break them far from the stove, otherwise you'll make scrambled eggs! As regards the pasta, the best choice is spaghetti: once you've boiled them, be quick and pour the carbonara sauce over them immediately, mix and serve hot!!!!

From the classic recipe, to a wide range of unique versions

These days, as far as gastronomy is concerned, fantasy plays a central role. So, if you don't like the traditional carbonara recipe, or any other recipe, you can also feel free to change it, to give your personal interpretation and to add your personal touch. That's why there are a lot of variations on carbonara's theme: vegetarian carbonara, mushroom carbonara, courgettes carbonara, artichokes carbonara, fish carbonara, and so on. And that's why very often you'll find onion or cream in it too!