I've spent the better part of my adult cooking life trying to replicate favorite foods I ate as a child because many of those recipes were never passed along to the next generation. Many of my food memories center around my Great-Aunt Giovanna's Sunday family dinners. She made a Sunday Gravy that everyone loved (and the other Italian matriarchs envied). And, by gravy I mean tomato sauce. I never understood why Italian families called it gravy other than the fact it simmered for hours the day before the family gathered for a HUGE dinner almost every Sunday of our lives. It was a very special tomato sauce. A sauce eaten every Sunday - even in during the sweltering dog days of summer. But those dinners are among some of my favorite memories because of the conversation, Italian opera playing on the hi-fi stereo in the background, stupid arguments, eating, broken Italian/English expressions, and love. We marinated in love at that table.
So when the weather gets colder I take out the big pots and get back to work on perfecting the sauce that eludes me. The house becomes toasty warm with the stove going all day and the smell is intoxicating. This is the closest I've come to recreating that sauce.
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 (14.5 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
- 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 4 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
- 3 cups water
- 4 cups fresh sliced mushrooms (optional)
- 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (I usually add quite a bit more)
- (4 teaspoons white sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (optional)
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 2 pinches baking soda
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Saute garlic and onions in olive oil in a medium-sized stock pot or Dutch oven until transparent. [Note: if you don't have to accommodate vegetarians at your dining table, this would be the point you could brown 3-4 beef short ribs and remove to add to the sauce later.] Add tomato paste to mixture and combine until well mixed. Cook this mixture over a medium heat until the paste begins to slightly brown in color (not burn!). Stir frequently to be sure the mixture does not stick to bottom of the pan and burn.
Mix together whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, mushrooms, sugar, salt and pepper, basil, and 1 pinch of baking soda in a large saucepan. [Non-veg addition: replace one cup of water for one can of beef broth.] Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 4 hours minimum. [Return browned short ribs to simmer in the sauce.] Stir frequently. Sauce should not be thin/runny. It should be closer to the consistency of applesauce. (Trust me.)
Stir in another pinch of baking soda; the sauce will foam. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and almost brown. Make sure to scrape the sides of the pan in to the sauce.
After the sauce is fork consistency (applesauce-like), stir in Parmesan cheese. Watch that the cheese does not burn. Taste sauce. If it is too tangy or acidic, add another pinch of baking soda and simmer another 1/2 hour.
Cool, cover, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, reheat and serve. (This step is crucial - you can eat it the same day but it will be a completely different sauce if you wait!)
Mangia!
c
