Marietta’s Tomato Sauce

A friend I used to work with and had lunch with almost every day invited me home to dinner with him. He said his wife, Marietta, was Italian like me and a great cook. When I arrived and was introduced to Marietta, we made the standard exchange that Italian-Americans often do – “So, where in Italy are your people from?” Since we were both of Italian descent, instead of the general “Naples,” I more specifically said Salerno and instead of “Sicily,” Marietta said Trapani. And so, the inevitable cooking rivalry began. She knew her husband’s friend was coming for dinner but didn’t know I was Italian-American. She made, among other things, what she called simply ‘tomato sauce.’ She knew I would silently compare it to my family’s ‘tomato sauce.’ Before we started eating, I mentioned that my mother’s sister married a Sicilian and learned recipes from her mother-in- law which she introduced to our family. I made it clear that I was familiar with Sicilian cuisine and appreciated it. We put a love of cooking and good food before the old regional rivalry and had a great dinner. Before I left, Marietta wrote down her sauce recipe for me. Keep in mind that you only need just 5 ingredients for a simple tomato sauce – olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and tomatoes. This one has a lot more than that! That’s a ton of flavor.

Marietta’s Tomato Sauce Ingredients:

1 pound of long pasta (ideally perciatelli or bucatini but spaghetti will work)
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt, black, and red pepper
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 lb. chopped beef
1 – 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine
1 – 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 sprig of basil
* Sachet – 10 black peppercorns, 1 dried chili, 2 bay leaves, 1 crushed garlic clove
1 – 8 oz. can peas

* Sachet – little cloth bags are available in supermarkets or Google, If you can’t find them, cut a white handkerchief into quarters, wrap the ingredients and tie it with a string.

Sauté the chopped onion in olive oil, salt, black and red pepper. Don’t brown it, just cook until it’s translucent. Add the chopped beef and brown it. Add the tomato paste, blend well, and cook about 8 minutes.

Start a pot of salted water and cook the pasta.

Add the red wine to the sauce and deglaze the pan. Add the can of San Marzano tomatoes, a sprig of fresh basil, the sachet, and simmer for 30 minutes.

At the end of 30 minutes add the 8 oz. can of drained peas to the sauce, simmer 5 minutes and serve. Serve the pasta with a sprinkle of basil chiffonade, and pass grated Parmigiana around the table.

Variations:

It you intend to add additional meat to the sauce (sausage, meatballs, braciole) brown it in a separate pan, deglaze the pan with some wine and add it all to the sauce for that last 30 minutes of cooking.
If you make Sicilian pizza try this sauce without the chopped beef. When the sauce is cool mix in ¾ cup of unseasoned breadcrumbs.

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Sauce vs. Gravy

It’s an argument that will probably go on forever among Italian-Americans. Is it sauce or gravy? Most non-Italians couldn’t care less and it doesn’t really bother me but I’m going to add my opinion anyway.

In any dictionary, gravy and sauce have almost identical definitions although it seems that to be called “gravy” there must be some meat, or meat juices or drippings involved.

In Italian, there’s sugo (thin sauce/gravy made with meat) and ragu (thick sauce/gravy made with meat). Then there’s salsa, not made with meat and which I would translate as sauce.

When people think of gravy it’s usually brown and often made with meat drippings and a bit of flour to thicken it. Well, why can’t it be red and made with meat drippings and tomatoes instead of flour?

When my mother had a pot of bubbling tomatoes on the stove filled with meatballs, braciole, and sausage she called it “gravy.” When she made marinara, that’s tomatoes with no meat, it was “sauce.”

So that’s my take on the unending sauce-gravy argument. And here’s a recipe for a ragu. You can call it what you like.

Pork Ragu

*Italian trinity

Sweat one cup of trinity in oil and then add and lightly brown the pork. Add the crushed tomatoes and sachet. Simmer for at least one hour.

Put on a pot of water for the pasta. Add the peas to the tomatoes and pork and simmer for another 10 minutes while the pasta is cooking. Taste for seasoning.

When the pasta is almost done drain and add it to the ragu to finish cooking. If it’s too dry add some pasta water. Serve with grated cheese.

Sunday Gravy

There are a lot of variations for this one – but always meat and tomatoes. Here’s a simple, basic recipe which you can vary.

Ingredients:

Olive oil
Sausage – hot or sweet
Oxtails
Dried sausage or soprasade
Garlic (2 chopped cloves)
Crushed tomatoes
Salt and black pepper

Brown the sausage and oxtails in oil. Do it in batches and don’t crowd the pan. Remove and add the dried sausage and garlic. Don’t burn the garlic. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Lower heat, taste for seasoning and simmer for at least one hour.

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REVERIES & RECIPES

Tag Archives: sauce

Marietta’s Tomato Sauce

Marietta’s Tomato Sauce

Marietta’s Tomato Sauce Ingredients:

Sauté the chopped onion in olive oil, salt, black and red pepper. Don’t brown it, just cook until it’s translucent. Add the chopped beef and brown it. Add the tomato paste, blend well, and cook about 8 minutes.

Start a pot of salted water and cook the pasta.

Add the red wine to the sauce and deglaze the pan. Add the can of San Marzano tomatoes, a sprig of fresh basil, the sachet, and simmer for 30 minutes.

At the end of 30 minutes add the 8 oz. can of drained peas to the sauce, simmer 5 minutes and serve. Serve the pasta with a sprinkle of basil chiffonade, and pass grated Parmigiana around the table.

Variations:

It you intend to add additional meat to the sauce (sausage, meatballs, braciole) brown it in a separate pan, deglaze the pan with some wine and add it all to the sauce for that last 30 minutes of cooking.

If you make Sicilian pizza try this sauce without the chopped beef. When the sauce is cool mix in ¾ cup of unseasoned breadcrumbs.

Sauce vs. Gravy

Sauce vs. Gravy

It’s an argument that will probably go on forever among Italian-Americans. Is it sauce or gravy? Most non-Italians couldn’t care less and it doesn’t really bother me but I’m going to add my opinion anyway.

In any dictionary, gravy and sauce have almost identical definitions although it seems that to be called “gravy” there must be some meat, or meat juices or drippings involved.

In Italian, there’s sugo (thin sauce/gravy made with meat) and ragu (thick sauce/gravy made with meat). Then there’s salsa, not made with meat and which I would translate as sauce.

When people think of gravy it’s usually brown and often made with meat drippings and a bit of flour to thicken it. Well, why can’t it be red and made with meat drippings and tomatoes instead of flour?

When my mother had a pot of bubbling tomatoes on the stove filled with meatballs, braciole, and sausage she called it “gravy.” When she made marinara, that’s tomatoes with no meat, it was “sauce.”

So that’s my take on the unending sauce-gravy argument. And here’s a recipe for a ragu. You can call it what you like.

Pork Ragu

Sweat one cup of trinity in oil and then add and lightly brown the pork. Add the crushed tomatoes and sachet. Simmer for at least one hour.

Put on a pot of water for the pasta. Add the peas to the tomatoes and pork and simmer for another 10 minutes while the pasta is cooking. Taste for seasoning.

When the pasta is almost done drain and add it to the ragu to finish cooking. If it’s too dry add some pasta water. Serve with grated cheese.

Sunday Gravy

There are a lot of variations for this one – but always meat and tomatoes. Here’s a simple, basic recipe which you can vary.

Ingredients:

Olive oil

Sausage – hot or sweet

Oxtails

Dried sausage or soprasade

Garlic (2 chopped cloves)

Crushed tomatoes

Salt and black pepper

Brown the sausage and oxtails in oil. Do it in batches and don’t crowd the pan. Remove and add the dried sausage and garlic. Don’t burn the garlic. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Lower heat, taste for seasoning and simmer for at least one hour.

Reveries and Recipes