My name is Giovanna Bellia LaMarca and I am here to keep Sicilian recipes alive. I wrote three Italian cookbooks: Sicilian Feasts, The Cooking of Emilia-Romagna: Culinary Treasures of Northern Italy, and the Language and Travel Guide to Sicily. Instead of writing a fourth book, I decided to join the youth on the RU-vid platform and make instructional cooking videos instead. Enjoy!
Giovanna, you could fry a sponge and I would try it! I love your heartwarming videos that take me back to my heritage now that everyone in my family is gone. I have wonderful memories of all us Italian ladies trying to outdo each other in our cooking! Some of us even held back details in our recipes so that they could never be completely duplicated. When my husband is upstairs and I need him to come down, I always know what will bring him running! The wonderful aromas of our Italian foods! So I love your videos and I must say that I love your intro as well! What a magnificent home you have and it give such a feeling of peace that I never miss your intro. Thank you for a delightful video and I keep watching them all!
Dear G…better late than never! Your lasagna recipe appeared today 2024/08/15 on my RU-vid channel, and I watched twice. I was impressed by the results and the use of fresh nutmeg throughout. Fifty (50) years ago I had lasagna bolognese at a northern Italian restaurant in New York City. I never forgot the incredible flavor and taste of the nutmeg in the bechamel and in the sauce. Just incredible! Thank you so much 😊
Your recipe really put the hook in me and had to try it. Followed it to the letter, I was not disappointed. Fragrant, hearty, you papa really knew what he was doing, and so do you. Bravo, Giovanna, molto bene.
This morning I ordered shelled pistachios on Instacart and the brought be shell on pistachios. I was still feeling put out when I looked for my favorite cook on RU-vid and I see this….feels sort of magical. I’m going to spend some time with my 14 year old son who loves to cook. ❤
good lord you are a precious lady, Giovanna. you just gained a new subscriber! That bolognese looks amazing, i make it pretty much the exact same (only i add garlic to it...)
Wow, Giovanna, you brought back so may memories. I’m Sicilian. I never had pasta with pesto, let alone with potatoes and string beans until I started to work with a bunch of Genovese, or as they refer to themselves as Zannese (sp). I became friends with some of the younger guys and eventually they invited me for dinner. Their mom or Nonna would make pasta with pesto with potatoes and string beans. What a treat. Today, I’m trying your recipe. I hope I do it justice. Thank you
My family's sauce was altered when they came over on the boat. My Great Great Grandmother and Great Great Great Grandmother still made it as authentic as they could but had begun using canned/jarred sauce. For me I was used to a very bland sauce for a very long time, then I got wise and dolled it up when my Grandmother, who was not of Italian/Sicilian blood was napping and letting the sauce cook down. After that it started tasting better and not long afterwards my mother actually liked eating it again. Now I'm currently perfecting it. We don't normally make a meat sauce. We make a sauce, season it, add Meat balls (Veal, Lamb, Beef) But many times just beef)), Chicken tights or legs, whole, and a full rack of extra meaty back ribs with bone, all raw in to the tomato sauce. Then it cooks all day in the big pot. Normally after 5 hours the sauce is cooked down, the meat balls have been braised and soaked up the flavors, and the ribs and chicken fall off the bone like butter. Used to add Italian sausage to but I started using the ribs and then I figured I can just add ground fennel. I like a nice mix and to much pork over powers. Btw yes you can do it in a slow cooker, just needs a really big one. My sauce recipe is mostly by family size and I measure by sight, feel, and taste.
Dear Giovanna, thank you so much for this recipe, this was the first time I made this Bolognese sauce and it turned out lovely, i will surely make it again God bless you and your lovely family.
My mother is from Modena/Bologna and she always made Bolognese sauce with Pancetta which give the sauce its distinctive taste. Noticed you don't use it at all which is a bit curious. It would taste like a simple meat sauce without the pancetta.
Hello Mrs Giovanna,i loved your video❤just a question.As i see the dough doesnt need hours of rest or fermentation.I combine the ingredients,knead the dough and put it on the metal oven tray right?
Forbidding the use of cheese on fish/seafood dishes dates back to medieval church laws. On holy days-many on the medieval calendar-fish was eaten and consuming flesh or products of land animals strictly forbidden. Nothing to do with supporting fishermen-different reason entirely for fish on holy days. So down through the ages, if you were eating fish, must be a holy day-no cheese or meat until modern times when only the rule of no cheese with fish/seafood dishes remain, the reason forgotten. Very silly to adhere to a medieval church idea.
