Gilda's Sunday Afternoon Gravy with Meatballs

Polpette di Gilda con Sugo di Pomodoro di Domenica
When we were growing up Sunday meals were often had in the mid-afternoon and often consisted of a pasta dish with “gravy” (home-made tomato sauce with meatballs, Italian sweet and hot sausages, and sometimes even braciole). Gravy in Standard English strictly refers to thickened juices from meats, not fruits or vegetables. In Italian immigrant households, the word gravy brought to mind the aromatic scents of tomatoes simmering, bacon, onions and garlic frying, meatballs, sausages, and sometimes braciole all basking in that rich, red sauce that evolved into a gastronomic ecstasy during the course of the day as it lay simmering on the stove. I remember Grandma Madalena’s apartment building in Queens on Cherry Avenue – when you entered the foyer, the aromas of gravy would hit you immediately. When she and her husband Antonio lived at their house in Queens, you would smell that same aroma on the weekend. There always seemed to be an infinite supply of that gravy, and with all the relatives, you really needed it – we were all big eaters (some of us still are!).
The recipe you see is for the meatballs and sauce – I have not gone into the sausages or braciole here, but you can certainly make them and add to the gravy. I tried to keep this as authentic as possible to the way Gilda would make it, keeping in mind I would prefer using fresh herbs rather than the dried, especially if they’re available. Also, when I am real ambitious in the summer, I will use home-grown fresh Roma/San Marzano tomatoes for the sauce – for that, you would need to score the tomato tops, and then boil them for a couple of minutes. You would then remove them from the water and let them cool before peeling and using for the gravy.
For the Sunday afternoon meal we would have a salad first, followed by pasta with the gravy, and then meatballs, sausage, and/or braciole as a second course. Desserts, such as Italian cookies, pastries, or fresh fruit, would be later to allow digestion time. Of course, there were always leftovers – very nice for Sunday evening panini.
Ingredients for the Gravy:
2 – 28 oz cans of San Marzano tomatoes, strained
1 – 28 oz can tomato purée
1 – 6 oz can tomato paste
Sea salt to taste
1 T sugar
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Peperoncino piccante tritato (optional)
2 t dried parsley
2 t dried basil
7-8 basil leaves, broken up
1 bay leaf
2 t oregano
1 t thyme
1 c red wine
½ package of bacon
2 yellow onions, diced small
5-6 garlic toes, chopped
1 carrot, chopped up fine
2 celery ribs with leaves, minced
½ lb mushrooms, chopped (optional)
½ c of grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Preparation:
Pour the tomato purée, strained tomatoes and tomato paste in a saucepot and cook on medium flame until it begins to simmer then reduce the flame to low. Stir the sauce, making sure the paste is thoroughly integrated.
Add the oregano, dried basil, thyme, salt, pepper, [peperoncino piccante tritato], bay leaf and sugar. Stir to blend all ingredients.
In a frying pan, cook the bacon until crispy on both sides. Remove bacon, and then add your onions and garlic to the bacon fat. Cook them until caramelized. Remove from pan and place in small bowl. By this time the aromas are driving everyone mad with hunger – you can offer the onions, garlic and bacon to the beggars hovering around you – delish! My sister Adele and I would fight over who gets what!
If you have Italian sausages, ribs, or braciole, this is the time to fry them – right in the bacon fat! Once you brown these meats (if any), place them right into the tomato sauce, an addition which graduates the sauce into becoming gravy.
Now turn off the heat to the frying pan, and at this time begin to make your meatballs (see recipe). In the same pan fat, brown the meatballs and add them directly to the sauce. Should you need additional grease for the pan, use a little olive oil.
Once the meatballs are done, pour out most of the pan fat being careful not to lose any of the brown bits in the bottom of the pan.
Add the [mushrooms], carrot, and celery, and return to heat. Cook on low for 3-4 minutes.
Add red wine to the pan mixture and deglaze the pan for 4-5 minutes or until the wine is reduced by half.
Add the pan mixture to the sauce and stir to blend.
Add the fresh basil and Parmigiano Reggiano and stir.
Cook on low flame for no less than 4 hours. Stir every 10-15 minutes.
Serve with whatever pasta you like. I prefer my Aunt Lydia’s macaroni - rigatoni.
Buon appetito!
Ingredients for Polpette (Meatballs):
2 lbs of ground meat, equal parts lean ground beef, pork, and veal
Old stale Italian bread, about ½ a load, softened with milk or water, and broken up into very small pieces with your hands
2-3 eggs, slightly beaten
½ t garlic powder (or to taste)
½ t onion powder
1 t oregano seasoning (or to taste)
½ t thyme (or to taste)
¼ c parsley flakes (or to taste)
¾ c grated Parmigiano Romano or Pecorino Romano
1 or 2 t sea salt (or to taste – yes, you can taste the meat mixture even though it’s raw – Carl Zeoli really liked that. In Europe it’s called Bistecca alla Tartara)
¼ - ½ t black pepper
Bacon fat for frying (see gravy recipe)
Preparation:
Mix all ingredients gently in a large bowl until well combined.
Roll meatballs 1 ½- 1 ¾ inch diameter.
Place meatballs in the pan with bacon/saussage/braciole fat over medium heat.
Fry meatballs in the fat, rolling frequently, until evenly browned and juices run clear.
Drop meatballs into the gravy and let simmer for awhile to flavor sauce.
Serve with your favorite pasta and sauce, or separately as a second course.
Note: You can also bake or broil these if the frying part is too much of a hassle-- I use my oven for frying especially if I don’t want to have splattering on the stove. Keep in mind that Gilda did not oven fry these – all the cooking was all done on the stove.