Pasta Sauce 2008

Outstanding Pasta Sauce 2008: Nuovo Pasta Productions, Ltd. Roasted Portabella and Truffle Gourmet Sauce

What began 20 years ago in a small kitchen with a wooden rolling pin and an imported tabletop pasta machine has turned into a line of award-winning pastas and sauces. The products are especially popular with professional chefs nationwide, who make up the majority of Nuovo Pasta Production’s customer base, and who are used to test each product. “Once the products are chef-tested, we roll them out in retail,” says Carl Zuanelli, president of Stratford, Ct.-based Nuovo Pasta.

This year’s award-winning Roasted Portabella and Truffle Gourmet Sauce exemplifies Nuovo’s understanding of successful flavor combinations. The unmistakable earthy aroma of roasted portabella mushrooms and shaved truffles combine to create a distinctive sauce. “Nuovo means innovation. We are constantly looking for innovative ingredient combinations that are in vogue in the culinary world,” Zuanelli notes.

The sauce’s versatility is appealing: It can be used straight from the package, or it can be added to cream to create an Alfredo mushroom sauce. It’s also excellent as a topping for bruschetta. “We have one client who mixes it into mashed potatoes for foodservice and serves it with steak,” adds Zuanelli.

Roasted Portabella and Truffle Gourmet Sauce merchandises well in specialty food/cheese refrigerated cases or in the meat department. It is part of a seven-item family of gourmet sauces that are all natural, with no additives or preservatives. Nuovo’s other sauces are Artichoke & Olive, Original Basil Genovese, and Cilantro, Tequila & Lime. Suggested retail: $4.99/6-ounce container; nuovopasta.com.—Denise Shoukas

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