Caruso Sauce

Caruso Sauce (also "carusso") is a kind of soft and warm sauce especially prepared to be served with home-made pasta, made up of cream, sliced onions, ham, cheese, nuts and mushrooms. In general, tortellini and gnocchis are accompanied by caruso or even tomato sauce in most cases.

History

Caruso sauce was first created in Uruguay, when in 1915 two owners of a restaurant located in the street corner of Constituyente and Tacuarembó in the city of Montevideo, decided to try out a new recipe by putting into practice the current traditions of Italian cuisine. The aim was to impress the Neapolitan tenor Enrico Caruso during his tour over the Southern Cone.

The formula was named after the person for whom it was prepared. Curiously enough, Enrico Caruso became fascinated with it and, as a result, the sauce was soon available in most food places around the country. It was originally thought to be a variant of bechamel, but its flavor definitely made the difference.

Soon after, several culinary seminars referred to caruso sauce as "the new invention" making the sauce winning international recognition. In the last decades, the sauce has become increasingly popular among most South American and Western Europe countries.

At present, it is considered as part of the Uruguayan cultural heritage and is urged by the Asociación Uruguaya de Gastronomía (Uruguayan Cuisine Association) to be included in the menu of every restaurant or food place within the limits of the country. [ [http://www.montevideo.com.uy/noticia_16038_1.html Caruso Sauce in the cuisine section of "Mi Montevideo"] - Website in Spanish]

Due to the common shared cultural background existing between Uruguay and Argentina, it is not strange to find caruso sauce in some places of Buenos Aires. It can even be found among several Brazilian restaurants.

References