Favorite pasta sauce recipe

[TwingleMum]

Its cold and damp and I was thinking of making a big pot of gray ( I'm Irish, I know it should be called sauce - gravy is brown but we always called it gravy LOL) I love slow simmering it all day in a big pot and stealing tastes on a slice of good semolina bread. I usually saute chopped onion and garlic in olive oil till translucent. Then I add around 4 cans of crushed tomatos and slow cook for around 4 hrs. Sometimes I add browned meat like Italian sausage or bracciole or meatballs. Can anyone share other sauce recipes?? And feel free to help me tweek this recipe. Thanks.

 

[Twigs]

I guess my favorite is the recipe I got from my MIL. Saute garlic in olive oil, add 2 cans Redpack tomato puree, a little oregano, basil, and salt and pepper. Then add Sweet Ital. sausage, stuffed Braciole, and meatballs that have all been browned first, and let that simmer for a few hours.

Another sauce my family really likes is:


Thick Provencal Tomato Sauce

6 lb. tomatoes (I use 2 cans crushed tomatoes if tomatoes are not in season.)
1/3 c. oil
1 c. finely chopped onion
1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. sugar
5 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp. orange peel
1 bouguet garni of 6 sprigs parsley and 2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds ( I crush these)
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp dried coriander seeds ( I crush these)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp celery salt
2 - 4 T. tomato paste

Skin tomatoes, remove seeds, and chop up pulp, there should be 7 - 8 cups of pulp. Heat the oil in pot and add onions, cook until translucent but do not brown, stir in flour, cook 2 or 3 min. still do not let brown. Add tomato pulp, sugar, garlic, orange peel, bouquet garni and all of the herbs and seasonings. Cover and simmer about 15 min. Add 2 T. tomato paste and simmer very slowly, partially covered, for 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally, pressing pulp against the sides of the pot to make sauce smoother. Cook until thick, if the color is pale add more tomato paste.

 

[goofydad621]

Ask most italians that have imigrated to this country and they will tell you that they call Spagetti sauce Gravy.

So one of my favorite recipes

Start with 1/4 cup of olive oil, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic minced fine, 1 onion chopped fine, basil, oregano. Sautee until onion is translucent add sausage and brown, remove from pan, add pieces of chicken brown on both sides remove, add country style spare ribs brown on both sides remove.

Now you want to deglaze the bottom of the pan to get the richness of the meat inot the sauce. Turn the heat up to about medium and add either about a cup of red wine or water and as it bubbles in the pan scrap pan with spoon to release the stickings on the bottom.

Everybody has their personal favorite tomato brands and depending where you live not all of them are avaiable(when my aunt was alive she would ship 5-6 cases of a certain tomato brand from New England to Arizona to have her favorite)

I start out with 4 large cans of stewed tomato's, add 2 large cans of diced tomato's, 2 medium cans of tomato sauce and 2 6 oz cans of tomato paste.

Turn stove to medium heat and cover leaving a crack for steam to escape, add 2 Whole Bay leaves. Add meat back to sauce and when it comes to a boil turn back to hard simmer, simmer 5-6 hours salt to taste. If you like a sweeter sauce you can add suger OR about halh way threw cooking add 2 or 3 fienly grated carrot, the natural sweetness from the carrot is a nice addition. Stir occasionally being carefull not to burn the bottom.


This is a great hardy sauce

Enjoy Dave

 

[pumba]

boil 6-8 skinless chicken thighs on the bone.........when it is almost done.....get all the fat of it and put it in your sauce and let it simmer the rest of the day ......I love this and so do my family.....I call it cheap chicken caccitore

 

[TwingleMum]

GoofyDad(Dave) - Thank you for your POI. I feel vindicated. My Aunt married an Italian boy (about 60 yrs ago) His family introduced ours to some wonderful dishes. And thats where we learned about 'gravy'. Now I'll correct people and tell them some Italians DO call it gravy, And your recipe sounds delish.

Twigs & Pumba I can't wait to taste your recipes also. Thanks for
sharing.

 

[Mamu]

Pasta Sauce

1 lb. Italian Sausages

Brown sausages in olive oil, add 1 small chopped onion, cook slightly, add 1 tlbsp chopped fresh parsley, 1 fresh basil leaf, 1 clove of crushed garlic, 1/2 cup white wine. continue cooking till wine reduces. Add 4 cups chopped Italian Plum Tomatoes (canned or fresh), 4 cups tomato sauce, 1 small can tomato paste, 4 cups water. Simmer 1-1 1/2 hours, add meatballs simmer another hour.

The tomatoes you use will make a big difference in taste. Italian tomatoes are the best for making pasta sauce. San Marzano Tomatoes being the best.

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

TwingleMum,

The olive oil, garlic (LOTS of garlic), basil and crushed tomatoes is our favorite. Yea it is great when simmered for hours, but it can also be pulled together in less than 30 minutes for fast dinners.

Deb

 

[goofydad621]

You are very welcome. I have a good friend that I work with that is Irish as the day is long and he too calls it gravey.

My Uncle was from Sicily and his mama taught my dads sister how to cook for her boy, that is where I heard the term "gravy" for sapg sauce the first time.