Authentic Italian Sunday Sauce Food

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large pot, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil.
• Empty plum tomatoes into large bowl and squash with your hands.
• Add all ingredients (including any meatballs or sausage you want to add) to pot and simmer for 3 hours.

ITALIAN SUNDAY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat pot (I like a non stick pot) with olive oil. Diced up onion and mince garlic. Add to the pot and saute until cooked thru but not browned. Add the oregano, parsley, red pepper flakes (optional), bay leaves and basil (if using fresh basil, wait until sauce is already simmering). Add the sugar and red wine. Let the red wine reduce a bit. Add in the tomato paste and mix well with the other ingredients already in the pot. Let it kind of "melt" before adding the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. I add 1 can at a time to allow for easier blending. Add the water, stir. Cover and bring to a simmer then reduce heat to low. Put a lid on it and fugghetaboutit for a while! Stir occasionally to avoid it burning at the bottom of the pot. I would let it simmer for a minimum of 4 hours -- Make sure to fish out the bay leaves before serving!
• Serve with pasta and top with parmesean cheese or use my fave-fried bread crumbs!
• Dalla mia cucina alla tua! (From my kitchen to yours!).

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN SUNDAY SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook the Sausage: Preheat broiler to high. Place sausage on a broiler pan and broil for about 15 minutes, turning once. They will finish cooking in the sauce
• Make the Meatballs:
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Combine. all meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Mix on lowest setting until ingredients are just combined. Don't over mix or your meatballs will be tough. I use my kitchen aid mixer, but if you don't have one it is fine to use a large bowl and a mixer or even your hands.
• Lightly brush a baking sheet with Extra Virgin Olive oil. Form meat mixture into meatballs and place on baking sheet about an inch apart. Bake until lightly browned, approximately 20 minutes. You don't want them cooked through, just browned so they hold together. They will finish cooking in the sauce.
• MAKE THE SAUCE:
• Heat Olive Oil in a large pot. Add onions, a little salt, and cook until softened.
• Add garlic and cook another minute. A
• dd the Tomato paste, water, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to lowest setting, cover partially and simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
• Increase heat to medium high. Add crushed tomatoes, wine, grated carrot, and season with some more salt and pepper. Bring to a slight boil, reduce heat back to low.
• Partially cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add in the meatballs and sausage and cook for an additional 90 minutes(still partially covered), stirring occasionally to ensure the sauce doesn't stick to the bottom.

ITALIAN SUNDAY SAUCE

Steps:

• Sprinkle neck bones on all sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat 4 teaspoons oil in a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place neck bones in the pot and cook for 6 minutes, flipping halfway through. Transfer to a plate.
• Add sausage links to the drippings and brown for 3 minutes on each side, adding remaining oil as needed. Set aside with the pork.
• Add onion to the drippings and season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
• Add tomato puree and crushed tomatoes, than add water and sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until smooth. Add bay leaf. Rub basil and oregano between your fingers to release the aroma and add to the sauce.
• Slice sausages into large chunks and return to the pot with the neck bones; bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Add meatballs, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 6 hours.
• Remove neck bones and bay leaf. Remove any meat remaining on the bones, shred, and return to the sauce.

SUNDAY SAUCE

Steps:

• Season the pork shoulder all over with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium high. Working in batches if necessary, cook the pork until browned on two sides, 8 to 10 minutes total, adding more oil if the pan looks dry. Transfer pieces to a bowl as they finish. Add the sausages to the pot and cook until browned, 4 to 6 minutes total. Transfer to the bowl.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, if needed, and the onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and cook until softened, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the red wine, stir, scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan and cook until the wine is nearly evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and basil, then fill one of the 28-ounce cans with water. (You'll use it in a second.) Return the pork shoulder and sausages to the pot, along with any accumulated juices in the bowl. Nudge them around so they are submerged. Add the meatballs on top, then add enough water from the can to cover the meat. (There's no need to stir.) Partly cover the pot, bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pork shoulder falls apart when shredded with a fork, 2 to 2½ hours.
• When you're ready to eat, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions until al dente. While the pasta cooks, slice the sausage and shred the pork shoulder. Transfer to a platter along with the meatballs and a few spoonfuls of sauce. Reserve ½ cup pasta water, then drain and add the pasta to the pot of sauce. Over medium heat, toss the pasta with the sauce, adding pasta water as needed until the sauce clings to the pasta.
• Divide pasta between bowls, then top with a bit of each meat. Pass the Parmesan and platter of meat at the table.