Sunday Sghettis is English
Sunday Sghettis is something I created just three years ago, but the DNA of it all started coming together a few more generations back. My Brooklyn-Sicilian grandfather was stationed with the Air Force in England during World War II. It was there that he met my grandmother, tending bar at her father's pub in the small village of Whittlesey. The two fell in love, came back to the States, and got married. At least that’s the story I know and remember. Time can make some of the details sus.
But those details, are the details that in a roundabout way led to Sunday Sghettis. The thing is, this whole project of bending, breaking, and pushing the boundaries of what is and isn’t Italian food is thanks to my grandmom coming here in the name of love. A love that found an English woman named Beryl cooking Italian-American food in a small apartment kitchen in Central Jersey. She infused her own ingredients, techniques, and flavors into a cuisine that was already by all means a distant relative to its Sicilian origins. She made fucking magic.
Growing up, we were treated to the usual Sunday spaghetti, meatballs, sausage, and braciola that everyone with Italian heritage is familiar with. But there was always something additional, or different, or unfamiliar to our meal. That’s because my grandmother grew up in the English countryside and the garden was the source of much of their food which meant things that were freshest that day often also made it into our dinner. It was also the product of them stretching a dollar out of necessity. This meant no two meals were ever 100% the same, and that’s what made it exciting for me.
“…no two meals were ever 100% the same, and that’s what made it exciting for me.”
Meatballs would have a range of beef, pork, veal, and lamb. Different herbs and spices would make their way into the sauce. Vegetables either as a side or as a part of the sauce would make guest appearances. Sometimes the bread was fresh, sometimes it was store-bought, and sometimes it was day-olds, which was my favorite since it’s hands down the best for sopping up the sauce and cheese that was left behind in a bowl. The most exciting thing for this chubby pasta-eating kid was that the shapes changed from time to time, unknowingly based on what was on sale at the time. The only standard was the freshest sausage from the pork store down the street, which always remained the same. Half sweets - half hots.
Taking liberties with this “standardized” meal isn’t that foreign of a concept though. Each family has their own little secrets added to either the sauce, the meatballs, or the braciola. At friend's houses, I’ve had raisins in meatballs, cinnamon in the sauce, bone marrow simmering, big braciola, small braciola, both with or without prosciutto, and the one that still keeps me up at night - pepperoni added to the sauce. (Mysteriously, it’s something my own mom would do from time to time.)
Creativity - even with something that is ubiquitous to every Italian-American household – has existed for generations. And while I’ve always been someone that worked in art and design, it’s through the kitchen at my grandparents’ place that I think I experienced true unapologetic creativity. The uncanny ability to bend rules, come up with new solutions, and ultimately share something that passionate hands made. It was inspirational then, and it was inspirational three years ago when this project was started during the lockdown as a means to keep an idle mind occupied.
If you are new to Sunday Sghettis, it is mostly about pasta. But it’s also about creativity – exploring ways to create new versions of Italian classics, and leveraging pasta as a vehicle to introduce people to ingredients, techniques, and even other cultures. I learned a lot about my English heritage through the Italian food my grandmother cooked.
That is why this first issue is dedicated to London. A sprawling city with one of the best food cultures and under-appreciated native cuisines in the world. Some recipes may feel familiar, some may make you question new flavors or techniques, and others are going to explore the boundaries of how much British food can be injected into Italian traditions without totally becoming one or the other.
This is Sunday Sghettis, Issue 001, London.