From my new blog ‘Sorrento With Bells On’
Sorrento was the place where cannelloni, that popular classic of Italian cuisine, was invented by Nicola Federico at the Ristorante ‘O Parrucchiano La Favorita in 1907.
Originally called strascinati, cannelloni essentially consists of flat sheets of lasagne rolled into tubes filled with stuffing made from a range of foods including minced beef, spinach and ricotta. These are then covered in tomato sauce and baked. In other regions of Italy tomato sauce is often replaced by Bolognese sauce.
Cannelloni is similar to the American dish manicotti which is made from dried ridged tubes rather than flat pasta sheets. However, to confuse things further traditional manicotti is made from crepes rather than pasta. Nevertheless the cannelloni and manicotti are often used interchangeably to refer to the same dish.
Ristorante ‘O Parrucchiano La Favorita still exists in Sorrento and is located between Parco di Villa Fiorentino and Sorrento cathedral with its red bell tower, on the same side of the street.
The restaurant was founded by Antonino Ercolano who was training to become a priest before falling in love and finding this alternative means of making a living. In the following video, the wife of the current owner tells the story of this founder and how the restaurant evolved and developed.
Due to having meals in my hotel in the evenings, I have never found the opportunity to dine at this restaurant though I did visit it as the venue for a welcome meeting organised by my tour company. The following video shows this setting as the current owner provides more information about the restaurant.
I hope I will finally get the opportunity to dine in this restaurant the next time I am in Sorrento and to sample the famous Cannelloni.
cjknowles1972 