Sunday Gravy

Michele is of Italian –American decent. Food plays an important part in her life. All of the worlds of different cultures have family recipes that are passed and used by family members. They might change with time but in Michele’s life they remain the same in some ways. Sunday Gravy is one Italian tradition that has stood the test of time in her life and will be passed generation to generation



Growing up in an Italian house hold there were times that I could not actually understand that most people did not live the life we lead when it came to cooking. When I first entered the work force and others talked about their holidays which were no way near what we did. Holidays in our house were a big deal from Thanksgiving to Christmas with four main courses starting with an antipasto of fresh cold cut platter with all the best Italian favorites of salamis, soppressata and hot capicola to name a few. All followed with stuffed shells filled with creamy ricotta cheese smothered with gravy.
No matter what the occasion gravy was made in our house. If you visited grandparents, aunts or uncles there was always plenty of food and it included gravy. Traditions in my family are very important especially the art of cooking. Cooking is one thing that everyone learns in our family. One recipe that is especially important is making Sunday gravy. The most famous quote that is heard is “Sunday is not Sunday without gravy”.
My grandfather has made this recipe as far I know since he came over from Italy as a young boy and the same gravy recipe has been used since.
First you need to make sure you have all your ingredients, which include peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, garlic, and all the meat for flavor. It is better to use only fresh ingredients because being Italian that is the first important thing you are taught. My grandfather did not use canned tomatoes he would grew most of his tomatoes and other ingredients over the summer months and made tons of gravy so you had fresh tomato gravy all year long. The best is home grown ingredients like my grandfather always had but in today’s day and age sometimes this just does not work. To begin the first thing is to get out the big gravy pot, which is found in every Italian household this pot is usually twelve quarts or larger. Next is to get all your ingredients together to start the gravy. Start off with fresh garlic which comes in a big clove and peel the whole clove because what is not used now will be used later. Add about two teaspoons of virgin olive oil in the pot by eye that is about twice around the pot. Crush about three cloves of garlic in a garlic crusher so it is minced and it melts in the pot. Make sure the flame under the pot is not too high because the garlic will burn quickly and there is nothing is worst then burnt garlic. The first hint that the sauce has started is the aroma of the garlic and oil that quickly fills the air. Once this is done its time to open your cans, yes cans sorry grandpa. Four cans of tomato paste and three cans of peeled tomatoes will quite a bite of gravy.
Next you need to add your tomato paste into the oil with the garlic making sure that your flame is not too high. When adding your paste and water an important note is not to add too much water. You want your gravy to be some what thick after all there is nothing worst then thin gravy. This should cook for about ten minutes before the next step.
Now it is time to add your peeled tomatoes to the mix by putting them into a blender first will help the next process. When using the blender make sure you do not make the tomato’s to loose. Add them into the food mill and turn them into the pot of gravy. What the food mill does it strains the tomato and the only thing that are left in the food mill are the seeds. Add some black pepper and basil. Fresh basil has a strong smell that is hard to describe but if you are Italian you know this smell from an early age. It is found in most grocery stores but the best time is during the summer months when you grow your own. My memory as a child and I still do today while the gravy is cooking running out into the yard and picking a fresh piece of basil out of your own garden. Your first instinct is to smell it as you enter the house before washing it and throwing it into the pot. While your gravy is cooking about an hour it is time to start preparing the meat. You want to have ground chop meat beef, pork spare ribs, and hot and sweet sausage. By adding meat to any gravy adds robust flavors. Start by heating up a large frying pan with vegetable oil and add a little hot pepper to the oil. Make sure you wash meat any time you cook. After you wash your spareribs pat them dry and add black pepper and a little garlic powder for flavor. Braise each sparerib until they are golden brown and then add you sausages. The air is now filled with the scent of the fried meat and sauce cooking. Set them both aside until the hour is up. After one hour add the spareribs and sausage into the pot of gravy you are now half way through.
Now it is time to make your meatballs with chop meat, eggs, bread crumbs, garlic, fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Mix all these ingredients together in a large bowl and form individual balls that are too small or too large. Fry them until they are a toasty dark brown. These are called fried meatballs and one of the best parts of making Sunday morning gravy. One of memories is when my sister and I came home from church and Sunday school as my dad pulled the car into the driveway you could smell the gravy lingering in the air around the house. As we entered the house my mom was just cooking the meatballs we could not wait with anticipation until the first ones came out of the frying pan. There is nothing more relaxing then the aroma of fresh sauce cooking on Sunday morning.
Today, it is my turn to make the Sunday morning gravy and I still can not wait until those meatballs come out of the frying pan. I do not vary the gravy and follow traditions taught but I am sure there are others out there since Italians like to vary their recipes. But if you ask anyone this is just Sunday morning gravy.