TOMATO SAUCE (Sunday Gravy)
I was inspired by watching my father make sauce over the years. I don't know that he had an actual recipe, it was all about the taste, which is how I've learned to cook myself. When I had a hankering for sauce and was living overseas, I attempted to create his sauce and have tweaked it over the years. While my father adds pepperoni to his, it's not my personal favorite so I omit it. I love the sweetness that the pork imparts to the sauce. The longer the sauce simmers, the richer it gets. After freezing, some of the meat falls apart and it becomes more like a Bolognese. Makes enough for a crowd plus extra to share and freeze.
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Onions, finely chopped (1 large onion)
- 3 TBSP minced Garlic (6 cloves)
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil pref Extra Virgin
- 1 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper flakes
- 4 cans 28 oz Crushed San Marzano Tomatoes
- 2 cans 28 oz Tomoato Puree (Passata)
- 1 can 6 oz Tomato Paste
- 1 ½ Cups Red Wine
- 1 ½ Cups Water
- 2 TBSP Sugar
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper pref freshly ground
- 1 ½ TBSP Oregano dried
- 1 ½ TBSP Basil dried
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2-3 Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Rinds
- ¼ Cup fresh Basil leaves, chopped
- 1 recipe Meatballs approximately 18
- 8 Pork Chops boneless, center cut
- 8 Hot Italian Sausages
- 1 Coil Mild Italian Sausage or 8 individual sausages
Instructions
- Place the largest stock pot you have over medium heat. (I use a 13 ¼ quart Le Creuset dutch oven.)
- Add the oil, onions and crushed red pepper flakes. (I like to add everything before the pan is hot and allow the onions to gradually begin to sweat as the oil heats.) Saute until the onions are translucent, stirring frequently. If the onions begin to brown, reduce the heat.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until it is very aromatic (don’t allow the garlic to brown).
- Add the tomatoes, puree, paste, wine, water, sugar, spices and cheese rinds, stirring after each addition.
- Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. When it is boiling, give a good stir and reduce heat to low. Partially cover the pot, leaving about an inch opening on one side and allow to simmer, stirring every 20-30 minutes.
- While the sauce is simmering, prepare the meat.
- Grill the sausages and pork chops on the grill or in a grill pan until evenly browned. They do not need to be cooked through, as they will finish cooking in the sauce.
- Prepare the meatballs (see separate recipe)
- Add the meats to the sauce as each is finished and while still hot. (You may need to divide the sauce into 2 pots to accommodate all the meat.)
- Allow the sauce and meat to simmer over low heat for 30 minutes and add the fresh Basil.
- Continue to simmer for at least another 30 minutes and up to 4 hours, stirring occasionally, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as the cheese rinds tend to stick. The longer you simmer, the more the flavors will develop. The sauce will bubble up a bit just after stirring, so beware of splatters.
Notes
KTINA'S TIPS
- This is not difficult, but it is labor intensive and time consuming, so when I make it, I like to make a lot so that I can share and stock my freezer.
- My father adds pepperoni to his sauce – cut a stick in 2” chunks if you like.
- Depending on your butcher, both the Hot and Mild Italian sausage may come in coils. I like to use the individual sausages for the Hot and the coils for the Mild so that I can tell them apart in the sauce, as the ends are cut and they are curved.
- I usually end up making another batch of sauce to cover the meat and freeze in individual meal portions. I freeze extra sauce separately in Ziploc bags (double them so the don’t leak), which stack easily.
- If you don’t like Hot Italian sausage, use all mild. I like the flavorful blend of both. Chicken or Turkey sausage works equally well.
- At the end of the summer when my farmers market has bushels of San Marzano and Plum Tomatoes, I go the extra mile and make the crushed tomatoes from them. It is labor intensive to peel and seed all the tomatoes, but it really makes for a wonderful fresh flavor. You will still need to use the puree and paste.