Uruguayan Caruso Sauce

For those of you who don't know, my wonderful husband is from the small but beautiful country of Uruguay. Every now and then I get the opportunity to recreate some of the traditional dishes that he ate growing up. Their cuisine is very different from other Latin American countries, its uniquely almost European. They are famous for their amazing soccer players, their obsession over mate and their mouth watering asado or Uruguayan BBQ.

Recently, my husband was offered a position at a job that he has wanted to some time now and so to celebrate I decided to make some "pasta con salsa caruso."

Caruso sauce was originally created in the 1950's by Raymundo Monti, the chef of Mario y Alberto located in Uruguay's capital, Montevideo. The dish was named after a famous singer popular in South America named Enrico Caruso. The dish was an immediate hit and soon after gained international culinary recognition. Since then the sauce has spread across South America and Western Europe.

This sauce is has a warm cream base with added ham and cheese. It is also common to find nuts and mushrooms served in the sauce. It is typically served with cappelletti but I prefer it over tortellini or ravioli. Each and every time I've had the opportunity to serve this dish it has been an instant hit and so I decided it would be a wonderful opportunity to share it on Thyme & Travel.

Cubed Ham and Sartori Shredded Parmesan

Uruguayan Caruso Sauce

by Whitney Piñeiro

total time: 20 minutes

yield: 6 servings

Cream based Uruguayan pasta sauce with cubed ham, Parmesan, and mushrooms - this is a wonderful pasta sauce recipe that everyone will love. Perfect over ravioli, tortellini or any kind of pasta.

Ingredients

pasta

20 oz. Three Cheese Tortellini

sauce

2 Tbsp Butter

2 Tbsp Flour

1 1/2 c Milk

1 1/4 c Cream

1 tsp Beef Bullion

1 tsp minced Garlic

1 c cubed Ham

1 c grated Parmesan

1 tsp Salt

Pepper

vegetables

4 large Carrots Sliced

1/2 lb fresh Green Beans

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Directions

pasta

1. Bring to boil salted water in a large pot. Place in fresh Three Cheese Tortellini and reduce to medium-high heat. Boil for 7 minutes.

sauce

1. In a large skillet over medium heat melt butter. Whisk in flour and let brown for 1-3 minutes.

2. Slowly whisk in milk and cream while letting the sauce slowly thicken. You can add more or less milk depending on how thick you prefer your pasta sauce.

3. Season with salt, pepper, beef bullion and minced garlic. Let simmer another 3-5 minutes.

4. Slowly stir in cubed ham and Parmesan. Stir until all the cheese is melted.

5. Mix with pasta or place on top. Serve with vegetables.

vegetables

1. Preheat oven to 425`F and prepare a baking sheet by covering it with aluminum foil.

2. Toss vegetables in olive oil, salt and pepper until evenly coated. Place evenly across the baking sheet.

3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, mixing vegetables half way to cook evenly.