Up Your Pasta Game with Angelini Foods Sauces!
Pomodorini, Arrabbiata, Amatriciana, Limone: Your new passwords to a quick Italian dinner, courtesy of Gino Angelini Foods
The first time we heard about the Angelini Foods pasta sauces was during this cooking class with Ale Gambini. One of the ladies asked our editor Roberto if he had ever tried their arrabbiata sauce, or salsa in Italian. She would not stop saying how good it was, that he had to go and try it… So we went straight to the source, up on La Cienega Blvd, right on Beverly: Angelini Osteria, a real Italian food institution in Los Angeles, and its sister coffeeshop/deli/gelateria next door, Angelini Alimentari.
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We interviewed three of the partners of Angelini Foods, whose products are available at Angelini Alimentari and other select locations across town: Barbara Wilson, Girolamo Rindone, and Elizabeth Angelini, Gino Angelini’s wife.
From left to right: Barbara Wilson, Girolamo “Gino” Rindone, Elizabeth Angelini, and of course their Angelini Foods pasta sauce (Photo: Roberto Croci)
Meet the Italian Pasta Sauce VIPs
After some delicious iced coffee frappé, we broke the ice with Girolamo “Gino” Rindone (not to be mistaken with Gino Angelini!). The historical maître of Angelini Osteria has a contagious enthusiasm. Of Sicilian descent, but grown up in Turin, his childhood memories are scattered between the South and the North of Italy.
“When I was a kid, my father would bring me and my brothers down to Sicily, all the way from Turin,” he recalled. “We travelled by train, because we didn’t have a car. Imagine four kids, more or less of the same age, squeezed on tiny train seats, surrounded by heavy suitcases. The journey was long, but I have such good memories of that period. Once in Raddusa, the town would welcome my dad as a celebrity, and my nonni (grandparents) and zii (uncles) would throw epic feasts for us.”
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Food plays an important role in recollection, and Gino’s best food memory as a kid is the classic Sicilian brioche with granita (Sicilian granita is particularly creamy, more like a sorbet than just crushed ice).
Not too long into the conversation came some focaccia, calamari fritti, and more importantly vitello tonnato (which our editor Roberto absolutely loves), with capers and all. If you don’t know what vitello tonnato is, read this and then come and try it!
When you don’t have the time to make sauce from scratch…
Back to Angelini Foods, Elizabeth and Barbara, the minds behind the sauce project, know that the food at Angelini Osteria is delicious and healthy enough to eat on a daily basis, pasta included. “Sadly, no one can have Gino cooking for them the whole time (not even his wife!),” they remarked. “That’s why it’s great to have his sauces always handy in the pantry. However, it took time to develop the right methods to recreate restaurant freshness, to give customers the impression they are dining at the Osteria.”
The real stuff, the best of the best…. How can you even try and make a good product out of mediocre ingredients?
“It was crucial to find the right person to collaborate with our production. Even though he was not Italian, he understood our needs, like the importance of having San Marzano tomatoes and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese [remember when they found cellulose in pre-grated packaged parmesan cheese? That’s why you want the real deal]. The real stuff, the best of the best. How can you even try to make a very good product out of mediocre ingredients?”
The results are the four Gino Angelini Sauces: two classics and two inspired by Angelini Osteria signature dishes:
- Pomodorini (i.e. “cherry tomatoes”) is the most basic and simple but, for this reason, maybe the best one. Bright, light, a perfect base for lots of recipes. Not only pasta!
- Arrabbiata, which is versatile as well, but spicy—this turned out to be Roberto’s favorite.
- Amatriciana (no need to explain, right?), for which they had to tweak the original recipe a bit, using pancetta instead of guanciale. “It holds better,” they explain. “While guanciale tends to break apart, when it’s immersed in tomato sauce for a long time.”
- Last but not least, Limone, a lemon-based creamy sauce. This one was challenging to bottle, being cream-based. In the end, they managed to make it as rich and creamy as it should be.
Feeling fancy? Add fresh lemon zest, ground pepper, and some extra parmigiano…
Angelini Foods: Italian traditions meet Southern California
The Angelini family is clearly passionate about what they do, and they believe in it. After establishing the reputation of Angelini Osteria, they are now offering a genuine product that you can trust, with an authentic Italian taste.
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Gino Angelini can prepare a great dish in no time, and with his sauces you can do the same at home! If you feel creative, you can even add other ingredients and seasonings, such as pepper, basil, Parmigiano cheese, or whatever you desire. Or just use them straight from the jar because, honestly, these sauces don’t need anything other than properly-cooked (and adequately-salted) pasta. Throw some starchy cooking water in the pan, and you’re good to go. Don’t be afraid to pour too much sauce. You can always grab a piece of bread and do scarpetta!
Angelini Alimentari
Beverly Boulevard Location:
7317 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA, 90036
Phone: (323) 297-0070
Downtown LA Location:
843 S. Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles 90014
Phone: (213) 488-8084
Gino Angelini Foods (under construction)
This feature is unsponsored and unsolicited. Our editor Roberto Croci conducted the interview and gladly tasted the sauces. Serena Boschi transcribed and edited the interview. Photos by Gino Angelini Foods unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
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