Ingredients
Pasta
- 600 gfresh capeletis, filled with meat or cheese
- salt, for the water
Salsa Caruso
- 200 gcooked ham, in strips
- 300 gmushrooms, sliced
- 1onion, finely chopped
- 50 gbutter
- 500 mldouble cream
- 100 mlmilk
- 100 ggrated parmesan
- 1beef stock cube
- 1 tablespoonplain flour
To season
- 1/2 teaspoongrated nutmeg
- black pepper
- salt to taste
- a splash of dry sherry or brandy, optional
To serve
- extra grated parmesan
- black pepper
Directions
- Cut the ham into short thin strips. Use a good cooked ham rather than a thin slice. Slice the mushrooms fairly thinly. Chop the onion as finely as you can. Grate the parmesan and set it aside. Have everything ready before you start.
- Melt the butter in a wide heavy pan. Add the finely chopped onion to it. Cook it gently for about six minutes. It should soften without browning at all. Add the sliced mushrooms and turn the heat up.
- Cook them hard for about eight minutes. They release water and then take it back. Keep going until that water has gone. Wet mushrooms make a thin watery sauce. Add the strips of ham to the pan.
- Cook them for two minutes only. They are already cooked and need warming through. Sprinkle the flour over the pan. Stir it through and cook it for one minute. Crumble in the beef stock cube. Pour in the milk first and stir it smooth.
- Stir constantly as you pour it in. Bring it to a very gentle simmer. Never let a cream sauce boil hard. Let it simmer gently for eight minutes. Take the pan off the heat entirely. Stir in most of the grated parmesan. Adding cheese off the heat stops it stringing.
- Add the nutmeg and plenty of black pepper. Add the sherry if you are using it. Taste it and adjust the salt carefully. It should be thick enough to coat the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Give it three or four minutes only. Taste one to check the filling is hot. Drain it but keep a cup of the water. Tip the drained pasta into the sauce.
- Fold it through gently with a spoon. Do not stir it hard or the pasta breaks. Add a splash of pasta water if it is too thick. That starchy water helps the sauce cling. Spoon it out into warm deep bowls. Scatter the remaining parmesan over the top. Grind black pepper over the top. It is very rich, so portions should be modest.
Technique
- Salsa Caruso was invented in Montevideo in the nineteen fifties and is unknown in Italy, despite its Italian-sounding name.
- Large Italian immigration shaped Uruguayan cooking, and this dish is one of its local inventions rather than an import.
Substitutions
- Tortellini, ravioli or any filled pasta works in place of capeletis.
- Single cream with a little more flour gives a lighter sauce.
Variations
- The sauce is also served over gnocchi and over plain pasta.
- Some cooks add a splash of sherry or brandy.
- Ready-made salsa Caruso is sold in tubs across Uruguay.
History
Salsa Caruso was invented in Montevideo in the 1950s and named for the tenor Enrico Caruso; it is unknown in Italy.
Frequently asked questions
What is Capeletis a la Caruso?
Capeletis a la Caruso is a main from Uruguay: filled pasta in a cream sauce with ham, mushrooms and cheese. Salsa Caruso was invented in Montevideo in the 1950s and named for the tenor Enrico Caruso; it is unknown in Italy.
How long does Capeletis a la Caruso take to make?
Capeletis a la Caruso takes 20 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Capeletis a la Caruso?
Yes, within limits. Tortellini, ravioli or any filled pasta works in place of capeletis. Single cream with a little more flour gives a lighter sauce.
What is the most important thing to get right in Capeletis a la Caruso?
Cut the ham into short thin strips. Use a good cooked ham rather than a thin slice. Slice the mushrooms fairly thinly. Chop the onion as finely as you can. Grate the parmesan and set it aside. Have everything ready before you start.
