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Post by toshtego on Nov 4, 2017 21:26:42 GMT -5
There are pasta sauces and then there is the "gravy" made in some homes in the NY area.
Lotsa chopped onion sweated in good olive oil.
Celery greens and chopped stalks, not a lot. Just for some liquid.
Lotsa fine diced garlic. No matter how much you think, MORE.
Large can of Italian Plum Tomatoes.
Large can of crushed Italian tomatoes.
Hot Italian sausage, sliced, diced, chopped, whatever.
Roast pork, including ribs.
Meatballs also, if they are on hand.
Red wine.
Oregano, Bay leaves, Basil, a little fennel.
A little sugar.
Cook until the tomatoes loose their shape and the meat starts dissolving.
Ample squeeze of Anchovy Paste, stirred in. (Salt substitute).
Simmer a little longer.
Rigatoni, Al Dente. Other pasta OK but I likea the Rigatoni.
Add Rigatoni, mix and cook a bit longer.
Into a bowl with a heap of grated Reggiano Parmesan.
Interested in how you might do "this thing of ours".
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Post by herbinedave on Nov 5, 2017 0:05:27 GMT -5
Must be the recipe Ragu uses!  |
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Post by sparks on Nov 5, 2017 8:32:22 GMT -5
I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.
My sauce starts with pork spare ribs though. Not the tiny ones, the big homestyle ones. Fry those up in the pan, render out the fat. That's the best base to start with for any sauce. The rest is a family secret!!
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Post by Nevadablue on Nov 5, 2017 10:51:14 GMT -5
But, I thought WE were family!
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Post by Wolfman on Nov 5, 2017 11:36:32 GMT -5
That's almost identical to my Italian grandmother's recipe.
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Post by toshtego on Nov 5, 2017 12:31:31 GMT -5
That's almost identical to my Italian grandmother's recipe. I take that as high praise. This is something I learned from reading and listening to such folks. The importance of the celery greens and tips was from an elderly Tuscan lady. The anchovy paste or filets in lieu of salt was from an elderly Sicilian neighbor. The basic concept was from "The Godfather", Peter Clemenza as I recall. The roasted pork; ribs, chops, butt, came from someone I do not recall. The key is not overcooking the pasta since it will cook more when added to the gravy. That takes some careful attention. I have blown it more than once! Tortiglioni di Napoli is my favorite pasta for this but hard to find here so Rigatoni has to do. For a fat man like me, pasta is the very devil but what can I do? Life is short. I have tried the no-carb oriental noodles made from some bland tuber and they suck in Italian inspired dishes. |
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Post by toshtego on Nov 5, 2017 12:35:34 GMT -5
But, I thought WE were family! We have ways of making him talk....  |
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Post by PhantomWolf on Nov 5, 2017 14:00:16 GMT -5
That sounds wonderful. My recipe is similar, but I usually use one meat or the other. The celery is something I will have to try for sure. I will also have to try making sauce with ribs.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2017 14:07:45 GMT -5
The grape jelly makes the sauce and the crowd goes wild.
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Post by papipeguy on Nov 5, 2017 18:05:22 GMT -5
My wife is of Italian heritage and from Brooklyn. Once a month she makes about 2 gallons of "sauce" ( never gravy). I don't follow all that she does but she broils the meatball and sausage lightly before putting them in the sauce and sets the heat on the stove to low for about 6-8 hours. Stirs it about every 10 minutes. After dinner we take the remainder and put enough in plastic bags for future meals. Into the freezer and Sunday morning one of the bags comes out for dinner that day. Sunday is always sauce day......always.
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Post by crapgame on Nov 6, 2017 3:24:39 GMT -5
I sweat my celery/carrots/onions first then grind them . I add the ground veggies half into my olive oil and roasted garlic in my heavy bottomed pot. The next order of business is tomato product- Stanislaus whole that have been hand crushed,Furmino's ground tomatoes then our local crushed tomatoes (Delallo's). Add into the tomato pot some Basil, Oregano, Thyme and Marjoram. While doing all of this I have a nice marrow bone coated in tomato paste and rubbed with cracked pepper corns browning in the oven, once it is nicly browned deglaze with dry red wine and put bone and degalzed pan drippings into pot of tomato product simmer SLOW. I then take a beef/pork/veal blend from out local supermarket and mix it with the same amount of the stores in house sweet italian sausage and make into meatballs using the previously ground carrot/onion/celery mix. brown the meatballs in cast iron skillit and deglase w/ red wine add to sauce. Simmer SLOW for 3-4 hours. Remove the bone and serve with Al'dente Linguini and Pecorino Romano cheese and red pepper flakes on the side. I don't add salt to the sauce because the pasta water has been salted and that is enough for salt for us.
The next day is chicken parm and what is left over minus meatballs is frozen to be the starter base for my next pot of sauce.
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Post by Darin on Nov 6, 2017 6:27:16 GMT -5
Great thread! First time I heard the word "gravy" in this context was from an older Sicilian lady I worked with. She also introduced me to pasta fagioli.
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Post by toshtego on Nov 6, 2017 11:05:55 GMT -5
Great thread! First time I heard the word "gravy" in this context was from an older Sicilian lady I worked with. She also introduced me to pasta fagioli. I learned a good Pasta Fagioli recipe from a Croat immigrant who lived in Italy for a time. Wonderful stuff! Not sure how this became "gravy" rather than sauce. Sometimes called "Sunday Gravy". Never asked the sources why. Perhaps because it is ladled out on meats, pasta, bread, what have you? |
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Post by sparks on Nov 6, 2017 11:11:29 GMT -5
It's a family to family, region to region thing. I'm from Western New York (Buffalo). Not a single person that I knew growing up ever called sauce gravy. If you said gravy in our house, it was expected there was some turkey or stuffing to go along with it.
I make Pasta Fagioli as the weather starts cooling down. My own recipe that is the classic "soup" style.
My Great Grandmother used to make it like a Goulash. Elbow noodles, a few types of beans, lots of garlic, and some red sauce to bind it all together. It was just a thick pile of deliciousness on your plate.
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Post by Darin on Nov 6, 2017 12:28:26 GMT -5
As Justin stated, it's likely a regional thing. The majority of immigrants were from Southern Italy and it's claimed by some to originate there.
Another idea was that it was changed to "gravy" from "salsa" or "sugo" to sound more palatable to Americans.
Either way ... gimme some with a big hunk of garlic bread! 
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Post by crapgame on Nov 6, 2017 15:00:42 GMT -5
As Justin stated, it's likely a regional thing. The majority of immigrants were from Southern Italy and it's claimed by some to originate there.
Another idea was that it was changed to "gravy" from "salsa" or "sugo" to sound more palatable to Americans.
Either way ... gimme some with a big hunk of garlic bread!
I just need a bowl of the stuff and a loaf of crusty bread... |
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