Sunday gravy, a cornerstone of Italian-American cuisine, is a rich, flavorful sauce simmered for hours, typically made with tomatoes, meat (such as meatballs, sausages, or braciole), and a variety of herbs and spices. Often served on Sundays with spaghetti, this hearty and comforting dish is a beloved tradition in many families, passed down through generations. Whether you're a seasoned home cook or just starting, this comprehensive guide will lead you through the steps to create an authentic and delicious Sunday gravy that will transport you to the heart of Italy.
Here are our top 7 tried and tested recipes!
ITALIAN MEATBALLS AND SUNDAY SAUCE RECIPE
Flavorful and juicy Italian meatballs with garlic, parsley and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese braised in a simple Sunday sauce.
Provided by James
Categories Main Course
Time 3h30m
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- Dice 1 onion. In a large bowl hand crush the tomatoes. Alternatively, pulse the tomatoes in a blender for 2-3 seconds.
- Coat the bottom of a large heavy pot with a 1/2 cup of olive oil and saute the onions on medium-low heat until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the tomato paste to the onions and cook for 5 minutes, spreading the paste around with a wooden spoon.
- Add in all the hand crushed tomatoes, 1 tsp of kosher salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper and 1/2 tsp of sugar. Stir the sauce until incorporated and cook on a low simmer with the lid left slightly ajar. Stir the sauce every so often (very important!) to avoid sticking. The sauce should cook on low heat for at least 2.5 to 3 hours but longer will be better.
- Begin by grating 3/4 cup of parmigiano reggiano, mincing a half cup of fresh parsley, and creating garlic paste from 3 garlic cloves.
- Add the beef and ground pork to a large mixing bowl and season with 2 tsp kosher salt and a 1/2 tsp black pepper. In a small bowl beat 2 eggs and set aside.
- To the meat, add the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, parsley and garlic paste. Pour the eggs in and mix everything together. If the mixture is too dry, add one more egg to the mix.
- With wet hands roll approximately 2" size meatballs. The meatballs can be baked on a sheet pan with wire rack at 375f for 25-30 minutes or until brown in the middle of oven.
- Place the browned meatballs in the sauce and cook for a minimum of 1 hour on low heat to allow the meatballs to absorb the flavor of and braise in the sauce.
- When the meatballs are finished, serve with choice of pasta, grated cheese and Italian bread. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts : Calories 824 kcal, Carbohydrate 97 g, Protein 46.3 g, Fat 27.5 g, SaturatedFat 6.2 g, Cholesterol 132 mg, Sodium 1255 mg, Fiber 14.6 g, Sugar 29.3 g, ServingSize 1 serving
ITALIAN SUNDAY GRAVY-RECIPE HANDED DOWN FROM NONNA.
Italian Sunday Gravy will get your family to the table like nothing else. Rich, hearty tomato sauce spiked with wine, succulent cuts of pork and meatballs.
Provided by Kathleen
Categories Main Course
Time 3h20m
Number Of Ingredients 19
Steps:
- Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 large, rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil. Brush the foil with olive oil.
- Arrange (in a single layer) pork neck bones or country-style ribs on one baking sheet and the Italian sausages on the second baking sheet. Brush the tops of all the meats lightly with olive oil.
- Cook meats in the preheated oven, until deep golden brown on all sides, turning as needed to cook evenly. Allow approximately 1 hour for the pork necks and ribs and 40 minutes for the sausage. Set cooked meats aside.
- Meanwhile, in a very large, heavy-bottomed stock pot, brown ground beef and pork, over medium heat, crumbling into small pieces. Remove ground meats to plate and set aside.
- Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan. Add onions, minced garlic, and carrots and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes until they soften and begin to caramelize.
- Add the wine to the pot and cook, scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Continue to cook until the wine is reduced by half.
- Add whole tomatoes with their juices, tomato paste, water, bay leaves, oregano, fresh basil, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
- Add the browned grounded meats, pork necks or country style ribs, and sausages back to the pot. Bring the gravy to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer.
- Simmer, uncovered for about 3 1/2--4 1/2 hours. If you have the temperature right, you should see a cheerful little bubbling on the surface of the gravy. Moderate the heat to maintain this gentle simmer throughout out cooking time.
- Stir occasionally so the meats don't stick. If the gravy becomes too thick as it simmers, add water. (If it's simmering gently, you shouldn't need to add any extra water.)
- While the sauce simmers, make the meatball. After the sauce has cooked for 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 hours and is nice and thick, give it a very good stir, digging down to the bottom of the pot, then add the meatballs. Continue to simmer the gravy without stirring for another 30-40 minutes, or until the meatballs are hot and the flavors marry. Remove bay leaves. You're READY to Serve. Mangia! Mangia!
Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 1 /12 of the recipe, Calories 768 kcal, Carbohydrate 35 g, Protein 40 g, Fat 48 g, SaturatedFat 15 g, Cholesterol 288 mg, Sodium 1434 mg, Fiber 5 g, Sugar 19 g
SUNDAY GRAVY (REAL ITALIAN SPAGHETTI SAUCE)AND MEATBALLS
Sauce the way mamas in ital make it--meatballs that melt in your mouth. If I was on death row this is what I would want! God's honest truth! PLEASE PLEASE use it for Recipe #73939--it's amazing.
Provided by Bri22
Categories Sauces
Time 3h10m
Yield 16 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- SAUCE: Heat oil in large heavy pot (use a seasoned pot if you have one). Place the pork in the pot and brown until just about cooked. Transfer pork to plate. Do the same with the sausage and transfer to plate. Leave fat in pot. Add whole peeled garlic cloves cook until tender. Put garlic on plate with meat and stir in tomato paste until "saucy". Chop up tomatoes leaving the tomato juice in the cans (I use my chopper) and add them to the pot.
- Then add 1/2 of one can of the juice to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the meats and garlic to the sauce and bring to a boil. Turn down to low and cook for about 1 1/2 hours. Leave the sauce on low and remove all the meat and garlic cloves.
- Mix all ingredients for meatballs and shape into balls. Add to sauce turn up just a little higher than low and let cook the raw meatballs until they are done (1/2 hour) THATS IT!
- Now this is an old recipe, but I have seen it in the sopranos cookbook and this is a bit different.
- I used this sauce to make the ziti al forno from the sopranos cookbook (Recipe #73939) and it was the most amazing thing I have ever eaten, so I posted that too.
SUNDAY SAUCE WITH MEATBALLS
Provided by Food Network
Categories main-dish
Time 2h45m
Yield 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 23
Steps:
- Strain the plum tomatoes in a colander to extract the juice, breaking the tomatoes apart with your hands. Discard the pulp and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add 4 cloves garlic, the onion, red pepper and black pepper. Saute until the onion is soft and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add juiced tomatoes, red wine, Parmesan and salt. Add the tomato paste and the water and stir together over medium heat. *Cook's Note: Tomato paste should be added after making meatballs and ribs.
- Put the ground meat in a mixing bowl. Beat the eggs and add them to the meat along with 6 cloves garlic, the bread crumbs, salt, pepper, Parmesan and milk. Mix this all together with your hands. Wet your hands with water and continue to wet them as you pinch meat from the bowl and roll into 2-inch balls. Roll the balls in the flour.
- Heat 1/2-cup of oil in a large skillet. Add 3 cloves chopped garlic and saute until golden brown. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the meatballs and saute over medium-high heat, turning them until they are brown all over.
- *Cook's Note: As soon as you can pick them up with a fork, they are ready. You don't want them to be well done. If the meatball slides off the fork when you pick it up, it needs to cook a little longer.
- Cut the ribs apart and remove the membrane. Saute them in 1/2-cup oil until very brown and remove.
- Return the garlic to the oil and add tomato paste (for the sauce) to the pan; Cook, stirring, over medium heat for about 3 minutes until it softens. Remove from the heat and add to the sauce.
- Add the meatballs and spareribs to the sauce. Bring to an easy boil, then simmer over low heat for 2 hours. Add the basil and simmer for 15 minutes more. The spareribs should be very tender, falling off the bone and the meatballs should float in the sauce
REAL MEATBALLS AND SPAGHETTI
For homemade Italian comfort, make Ina Garten's Real Meatballs and Spaghetti recipe from Barefoot Contessa on Food Network, starring veal, pork and beef.
Provided by Ina Garten
Categories main-dish
Time 2h
Yield 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 23
Steps:
- Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and 3/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs.
- Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don't crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don't clean the pan.
- For the sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.
- Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan.
SOPRANO'S SUNDAY GRAVY (SPAGHETTI SAUCE)
Badda-bing badda-boom. Its a thing of beauty. This recipe is not a fast one, its an all afternoon dinner; But it is definitely worth it. From The Soprano Family Cookbook
Provided by Lightly Toasted
Categories Sauces
Time 2h15m
Yield 8 cups
Number Of Ingredients 20
Steps:
- To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat.
- Pat the pork dry and put the pieces in the pot.
- Cook turning occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until nicely browned on all sides.
- Transfer pork to a plate.
- Brown the veal in the same way and add it to the plate.
- Place the sausages in the pot and brown on all sides.
- Set the sausages aside with the pork.
- Drain off most of the fat from the pot.
- Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes or until golden.
- Remove and discard the garlic.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
- With a food mill (I use a Braun hand blender) puree the tomatoes, with their juice into the pot.
- Or for a chunkier sauce, just chop up the tomatoes and add them.
- Add the water; and salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the pork, veal, sausages, and basil and bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Partially cover the pot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours.
- If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little more water.
- Meanwhile, make the meatballs: Combine all the ingredients except the oil in a large bowl.
- Mix together thoroughly.
- Rinse your hands with cool water and lightly shape the mixture into 2 inch balls.
- Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet.
- Add the meatballs and brown them well on all sides.
- They will finish cooking in the sauce.
- Transfer the meatballs to a plate.
- After the sauce has cooked for its two hours, add the meatballs and cook for 30 minutes or until the sauce is thick and the meats are very tender.
- To serve, remove the meats from the sauce and set aside.
- Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce.
- Sprinkle with cheese.
- Serve the meats as a second course, or reserve them for another day.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 798.5, Fat 39.1, SaturatedFat 12.9, Cholesterol 169.4, Sodium 1276.4, Carbohydrate 63.9, Fiber 6.2, Sugar 11.4, Protein 47.1
GRANDMA'S OLD ITALIAN SPAGHETTI SAUCE WITH MEATBALLS
Grandma's sauce is an old recipe that she brought over from Italy. It is a long process with strange ingredients, but they all come together to make the best sauce I have ever had. The long process is worth your trouble the minute you take your first bite.
Provided by cherbear
Categories Side Dish Sauces and Condiments Recipes Sauce Recipes Pasta Sauce Recipes Tomato
Time 8h
Yield 12
Number Of Ingredients 21
Steps:
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in the bottom of a large saucepan, and fry the garlic cloves 5 to 8 minutes, until brown and fragrant. Remove the garlic cloves and set aside. Place the pig's feet and pork neck bones in the saucepan and fry, turning occasionally, until the meat and bones have browned, about 15 minutes.
- Return the garlic cloves to the saucepan, and stir in the tomato paste and 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, and pour in the tomato puree. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 3 hours, stirring from the bottom often to prevent burning, until the pig's feet are tender and the mixture begins to thicken. Stir in the sugar, pepper, and baking soda. Continue to simmer while you prepare the meatballs.
- Soak the torn bread with 1 cup of water in a bowl. Squeeze excess water out of the bread, and place the bread in a large bowl with the 6 beaten eggs, ground pork, ground veal, and ground beef. Mix thoroughly and form into 24 meatballs about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, stir in the minced garlic and chopped fresh basil, let them cook for about 1 minute, and then add the meatballs. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and fry them on all sides until brown, about 15 minutes, working in batches, if necessary.
- Place the browned meatballs, along with the oil, garlic, and basil from the skillet into the sauce, stirring lightly to avoid breaking them. Add the whole hard-boiled eggs, and simmer for about 1 1/2 more hours, until the meatballs are cooked, the sauce is thick, and all the flavors have blended.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 599.1 calories, Carbohydrate 38 g, Cholesterol 319.1 mg, Fat 29.4 g, Fiber 4.7 g, Protein 46.2 g, SaturatedFat 9.4 g, Sodium 1437.4 mg, Sugar 11.6 g
Tips:
- Use high-quality ingredients. This will make a big difference in the flavor of your sauce. Look for fresh, ripe tomatoes, good quality olive oil, and fresh herbs.
- Don't be afraid to experiment. There are many different ways to make Sunday gravy, so feel free to adjust the recipe to your own taste. You can add different types of meat, vegetables, or herbs, or you can change the cooking time to achieve a different consistency.
- Serve Sunday gravy with your favorite pasta. Spaghetti is a classic choice, but you can also use penne, rigatoni, or any other type of pasta that you like.
- Sunday gravy is a great way to feed a crowd. It's also a delicious and hearty meal that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.
Conclusion:
Sunday gravy is a classic Italian dish that is perfect for a special occasion or a casual family meal. It's a delicious and hearty sauce that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. With a little planning and effort, you can easily make Sunday gravy at home.
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