March was National Sauce Month! Here at Cantoro we cook, sell and enjoy sauce so much – it is part of our DNA! In fact, we’re proud to say that we make nine sauces in-house; many are served on dishes in our Trattoria and also for sale in our markets.
Cantoro’s offers:
- Alfredo –a white sauce historically made with heavy cream, parmigiano and butter
- Amatriciana – traditionally made with guanciale (cured pork cheek), onion and tomato. When the dish is served, pecorino is offered instead of parmigiano
- Amogio –a traditional Sicilian sauce consisting of tomato, garlic, onion, EVOO and fresh basil. Can be used on past, but more commonly used on grilled meats and fish
- Bolognese – a slow cooked meat sauce from Bologna. Equal parts beef, veal and pork. Tomato and a touch of milk or cream also is added
- Marinara –a tomato-based sauce made with garlic, basil and onions
- Meat – traditionally includes ground beef and tomato sauce
- Norcina – from Norca Italy, in the region of Umbria. Sauce consists of ground sausage, heavy cream and tomato. Often finished with truffles or truffle oil
- Palomino – a sauce consisting of half tomato and half heavy cream, finished with parmigiano
- Pesto alla Genovese – a sauce from Genoa, the capital of Liguria. Fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, parmigiano reggiano and EVOO all blended together. It was originally made in a mortar and pestle
The job of a sauce is to balance out the main part of the dish, which can range from pasta or grilled vegetables to any kind of protein. They can even be created as a reduction or vinaigrette, among others.
In celebration of this great month, our Executive Chef Anthony Calabrese, visited WDIV-TV to make Penne alla Vodka. Make sure to watch as he shares the secret to a good sauce that you can make anytime! Or come try ours!