We see the legacy of the millions of Italian immigrants who landed in these latitudes on our daily table: pastas and the most popular sauces that accompany them – such as succulent Bolognese – fascinate us, perhaps because they bring us closer to our roots every day.
Although in recent years the restaurants of chefs of that European peninsula that bet on transmitting the most genuine values of its gastronomy proliferated, at a massive level the hybrid formulas that resulted from the encounter between the recipes of immigrants with our own gastronomic culture kneaded in canteens, still lifes and pasta factories of Galicians are still consumed.
To check it, just check which are the most searched sauces on the Internet. The results are overwhelming: there is no room for "purisms" or new culinary trends. White sauce, Bolognese, Parisian, Fileto and scarparo rank high among our preferences. What is their true origin and how to make them at home.
Step by step, how to make sauces to accompany pasta
1- White sauce or béchamel sauce
White sauce, the most sought-after.
In our latitudes it is better known as white sauce and combined with "red sauce" (or tuco) is the typical coverage of the most popular baked pasta such as cannelloni and lasagna.
Although Italy and France debate the authorship of this thick sauce that ensures very photogenic gratins for various preparations, the cook Julieta Oriolo, owner of La Alacena Trattoria (Gascón 1401), affirms that the original recipe is French: "It was invented by the cook of Duke Louis de Bechameli. In Italy it is called besciamella," he explains.
Although it is a preparation with few ingredients (its base is flour, butter and milk) it is not so easy to make it with the desired texture, that is, without lumps or lumps. One of the tips so that this does not happen is that if the mixture of flour and butter – also called roux – is hot, the milk must be cold (or vice versa).
It is key to achieve the desired texture in the white sauce. Photo: Unsplash
There are also those who suggest using a mixer to mix in the first instance and then move to the wooden spoon. Extra fact: if we want a version without TACC (suitable for celiacs) you can use rice flour or cornstarch.
White Sauce Recipe
Watch the step by step recipe of Salsa Blanca
2- Bolognese sauce
Bolognese sauce. Photo: Unsplash
Julieta Oriolo says that Bolognese sauce originally, in Italy, was not made with tomatoes. And that did not even arise in Bologna but in a nearby region. "In those days there were still no tomatoes: only the meat was cooked in a sauce and milk was added to the cooking. That came here and changes were made. Today in Italy the tomato is added, "he clarifies.
The chef and journalist from Bariloche Paco Almeida -who can be seen every day in the program Escuela de Cocina on the screen of Canal 9- likes to prepare it with good quality minced meat (with a fat level of approximately 20%), onion, bell pepper, carrot, celery, tomato sauce and bay leaf. To give it a special touch, he suggests adding tomato extract, vegetable broth and red chorizo.
Although it is a very popular and widely used preparation, it can fail. Almeida warns about some common mistakes. The first, cook it little and make it very watery or tasteless: "It is key to cook it enough to get a good thickness. There are those who incorporate a teaspoon of cornstarch to achieve it but it is not recommended, "he warns.
A good Bolognese should have quality minced meat. Photo: Unsplash.
Second frequent mistake: "Do not cook well the first sauce of onion, bell pepper and celery and that it is raw or that does not provide the flavor that it does add when cooked at least fifteen minutes," says Almeida. The same happens with minced meat, if it is not browned well it loses a lot in texture and flavor.
Although this sauce is the passion of crowds and there are those who use it in all pasta whenever they have the opportunity, Almeida suggests trying it with short pasta (penne rigate, tiramailboxes, mostacholes).
Bolognese sauce recipe
Watch the step by step recipe of Bolognese sauce
3- Parisienne Sauce
Parisienne sauce. Photo: Shutterstock.
Fans of white sauce find in this recipe – considered one of the four mother sauces of French cuisine – the zenith of pleasure. Without a doubt it is an ideal formula for those who are inclined to unctuous, loaded and succulent dishes.
Mariano Palmisano, chef of Joe's Grill (Av. Fondo de la Legua 340, San Isidro) prepares it with béchamel (we already said that it is the same as white sauce) and cream. He also incorporates mushrooms, ham, white wine and in his opinion, the inevitable ingredient: chicken.
To give it a special touch, he suggests adding green onion and recommends being careful to give enough time to the evaporation of alcohol when deglazing the chicken with white wine.
A little green onion gives a special touch to the Parisienne sauce. Photo: Unsplash.
In this case the key is to start with a very good white sauce (see recipe and tips above) but there is more. YouTuber Paulina Cocina suggests using lard to brown all the ingredients (first the chicken and then – with a little more butter – the sliced mushrooms, the shredded ham and the small cut garlic).
When the mushrooms are browned it is time to add the cream. And once it reduces, the Bechamel sauce. And, voilà! A final tip from the chef of Joe's Grill: "As it has protein in its preparation I would not combine it with stuffed pastas whose fillings have meat, perhaps with some filling of vegetables or spaghetti."
Parisienne Sauce Recipe
Watch the step by step recipe of Salsa Parisienne
4- Fileto Sauce
Fileto sauce. Photo: Shutterstock.
Fans of this sauce love its flavor and its simplicity that makes it the most suitable for pasta filled with more complexity than noodles, for example. Although it is exquisite in all kinds of pasta.
Julieta Oriolo says that in Italy it was called Filetti di pomodoro: "It has that name because of the way in which the tomato was cut that was previously boiled, peeled and after cutting, marinated with oil, salt and basil. The pasta was cooked in those fresh tomatoes. It was a sauce that was used only in summer which is when tomatoes are better. Ideally it's made with the Italian San Marzano tomato."
The local recipe is usually based on canned tomato, garlic, basil -or laurel- and oil. Sometimes it also includes onion. The ideal is to make it with a good natural tomato (in summer) without skin or canned if we are in any other season of the year.
A good olive oil is key in the fileto sauce. Photo Shutterstock.
It is crucial to use a quality olive oil in which you have to sauté the garlic (if chopped small it provides flavor without adding texture). And fundamental: be careful that the garlic does not burn!
Fileto sauce recipe
Watch the step-by-step recipe for Fileto sauce
5- Scarparo Sauce
Gnocchi with Scarparo sauce. Photo: Courtesy Coco Carreño.
Here we have a case of a sauce whose recipe has different versions. According to Julieta Oriolo, its roots are Neapolitan although the original formula has little to do with the one consumed in Argentina.
"It was a super fresh sauce that was made with garlic, anchovies and olive oil. Here we adopt it and add other ingredients such as red pepper, tomato, basil and sometimes white wine, "says the cook.
Each canteen or still life that prepares it has a different formula: some put cheese, others replace it with cream. There are also other frequent additions such as bacon, a key ingredient in the Scarparo sauce prepared by chef Coco Carreño in his restaurant Coco Café (Demaría 4615).
Basil: one of the ingredients that Argentines incorporate into the Scarparo sauce.
"Many do not agree on what he should really wear. In Italy it does not exist as we eat it here. Some identify it as a pomodoro sauce or fileto with a little pesto and provolone, "says Carreño.
He chooses to prepare a pomodoro base sauce with strips of crispy smoked bacon, olive oil and garlic. It adds verdeo, basil and white wine. As it is a formula with a certain complexity of flavors, aromas and textures, it suggests consuming it with a dry or fresh paste but not filled to be able to appreciate it well.
Scarparo Sauce Recipe
Watch the step-by-step recipe for Salsa Scarparo
See also
