I grew up in a family that never went to church. Our next-door neighbors, on the other hand, were devout Catholic Italian-Americans who took their faith seriously. They had a framed photo of the pope in their kitchen and a holy water font with a bust of the Virgin Mary inside their front door.
The neighbor kids were my favorite playmates, and every Sunday I would sit by the window waiting for them to return from Mass. Sunday afternoons at their house were festive occasions with lots of relatives. Nonna always made her Sunday gravy, an assortment of meats and sausages in a slow-simmered tomato sauce. When you entered their house, you'd be greeted by its wonderful aromas. Sometimes Nonna would give us a meatball to tide us over until it was time to sit down to dinner.
Like many traditional Italian dishes, every family has its own version of Sunday gravy based on heirloom recipes that have been passed down for generations. Most versions include one or more cuts of pork and beef, plus Italian sausages and meatballs. The meats are removed from the sauce and served on the side. The remaining sauce is served with pasta. The best Sunday gravy simmers on the stove for hours, allowing the ingredients to infuse the sauce with a deep, rich umami. The long, slow cooking time was also time for families to be together.
Sunday gravy is featured in two classic movies: The Godfather and Goodfellas. My favorite scene from The Godfather shows Clemenza teaching Michael how to make Sunday gravy. The recipe was actually Francis Ford Coppola's family recipe. "Heh, come over 'ere, kid. Learn something. You never know, you might have to cook for 20 guys someday. You see, you start out with a little bit of oil. Then you fry some garlic. Then you throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste, you fry it. Ya make sure it doesn't stick. You get it to a boil; you shove in all your sausage and your meatballs, heh...? And a little bit of wine. An' a little bit o' sugar, and that's my trick."
The prison scene in Goodfellas shows Paul Cicero slicing garlic for Sunday gravy: The voiceover explains: "In prison, dinner was always a big thing. We had a pasta course and then we had a meat or a fish. Paulie did the prep work. He was doing a year for contempt and he had a wonderful system for doing the garlic. He had a razor and he used to slice it so thin that it would liquify in the pan with just a little oil. It was a very good system." (Fact check: Razor-thin garlic doesn't liquify – it usually burns!)
Sunday gravy can be made from a variety of meats. I scout the grocery store's meat counter for markdowns, meat that's still good but needs to be used soon. If you have a Parmesan rind on hand, add it to the gravy for extra flavor.
Italian-American Sunday gravy
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients:
1 cup olive oil, divided
5 peeled garlic cloves – 4 smashed for the gravy, 1 minced for the meatballs
1 pound beef, such as sirloin, eye of round, or short ribs
1 pound pork, such as neck bones, bone-in pork chops, or spareribs
1 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage
2 medium onions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 28-ounce cans whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand, with their juices
½ cup red wine
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and sugar, to taste
Chopped Italian parsley, for garnish
2 pounds of dry pasta, such as rigatoni, penne or fusilli
For the meatballs:
1 pound ground beef
½ pound ground pork
½ pound ground veal
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1 ½ tablespoons minced Italian parsley
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
Preparation:
Brown the meats: Pat the meats dry with paper towels. Heat ½ cup of olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat and add the smashed garlic. Sauté until the garlic turns a light golden brown, then remove the garlic from the pot and discard. The garlic flavor will remain in the oil.
Increase the heat to medium-high. Using tongs, sear each type of meat separately, turning frequently, until nicely browned all over, 8 to 10 minutes total. Transfer each batch to a bowl before browning the next batch. Then brown the sausages and transfer to the bowl.
After you have removed all the meats, sauté the onion until translucent. Add the tomato paste to the pot and sauté for about a minute, stirring with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to prevent scorching. Add the tomatoes and their juices. Fill one of the tomato cans with water and add to the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add the wine and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom. Return the seared meats and sausages to the pot. Adjust the heat to a simmer and cover with a lid propped slightly open. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring frequently, then season to taste with salt, pepper, and sugar.
Meanwhile, make the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the ground meats, Pecorino Romano, minced garlic, and parsley until evenly combined. Incorporate the panko, then moisten the mixture by adding water, a little at a time. Season with salt and pepper. Shape into 1 ½-inch balls, place on a sheet tray, and transfer to your freezer to firm up for 15 minutes.
Warm a large skillet over medium high heat and add the remaining olive oil. Brown the meatballs in batches. Transfer the meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels.
After the Sunday gravy has simmered for about two hours, add the meatballs and continue to cook for about 30 minutes more.
Transfer the meats to a large serving platter, and slice into serving-size portions. Cover loosely with foil and set aside.
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil over high. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the cooking liquid, and return to the pot. Ladle in 2 cups of the gravy and gently toss, thinning with some of the reserved pasta water until the sauce clings to the pasta. Transfer to a serving bowl and add another ladle of gravy.
Top the meat platter with a ladleful of the gravy and garnish with parsley. Serve as a second course.
Sunday gravy can be made ahead and refrigerated for one week or frozen up to three months.
