Delicious sauce with Pecorino cheese! Full of character, this hard, crumbly Italian cheese offers tangy tones of sweet spice and seared butter. At first glance, Pecorino may seem similar to Parmesan, but it is far from identical. Pecorino is made from sheep's milk cheese as opposed to Parmesan which is made from cow's milk, giving it a grassier, earthier flavor.

Uses: This basic Italian sauce is the perfect complement to all your favourite types of pasta: spaghetti, ravioli, gnocchi, cannelloni, etc. It is also delicious spooned over polpettes and arancini. Authentically Italian pasta dishes are not served swimming in sauce. Average proportions are 375 mL (1 ½ cup) tomato sauce for 500 g (1 lb) pasta. Don't throw away all your pasta cooking water: it's a good idea to add a bit to your sauce. Mix in ¼ to ½ cup (or a ladleful) cooking water with the sauce before adding the pasta. The salted, starchy water will enhance flavours and thicken the sauce, helping it stick to the pasta.

Distinctive attributes: Nothing rivals with the taste of Italian tomatoes ripened under the Mediterranean sun and seasoned with fresh, locally grown aromatics. If these sauces have a velvety texture, comparable to a homemade sauce, it is partly because they are prepared in small batches and cooked over an open flame, the same technique traditionally used by Italian mammas, allowing the water to evaporate gradually.

Origin: Roccascalegna, Abruzzo, Italy

Ingredients: Tomato pulp and cherry tomato puree 79% (Italy), ricotta cheese, extra virgin olive oil, Pecorino Romano cheese 3%, onions, carrots, celery, basil 1%, garlic, sea salt, parlsey, pepper, citric acid. Contains: Milk. May contain: Pine nuts.

Artisan:

The De Laurentiis family owns an artisanal business in the Abruzzo mountain region. For two generations, it has been drawing on traditional ingredients and know-how to offer products with an authentically Italian taste. The family grows organic tomatoes, saffron and other seasonings on its own plots of land, and turns them into sauces and condiments thanks to a veritable regiment of cooks who busily tend the ovens.

About Favuzzi

For generations, the Favuzzi family has lived according to the rhythm of the harvests near the Adriatic coast, in Italy. Michel Favuzzi, their founder, discovered the family's olive growing tradition through his uncle Damiano during a trip to Europe. It is worth noting that food is part of every conversation with the Favuzzis. Each family member is deeply attached to the land, passionate about doing things well, and focused on quality over high yield. Damiano is both a chef and an agricultural producer; it was he who encouraged his nephew to import an extra virgin olive oil bearing a protected designation of origin (PDO). This oil, produced by the oil cooperative most Favuzzi family members belong to, marked the beginning of the adventure.