Italian Tomato Gravy Recipes

ITALIAN GRAVY

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until lightly browned. Place pork shoulder in pot, and pour in 1/2 cup white wine and 3 cups water. In a small bowl, combine oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/4 of spice mixture over pork. Cover, and cook for 30 minutes turning occasionally. Add water periodically if needed.
• Pour in tomato puree. Fill cans with water, and pour in (about 6 cups). Stir in remaining spice mixture and the sugar. When liquid starts to bubble, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 4 to 5 hours. Stir occasionally, and adjust seasonings to taste.

ITALIAN TOMATO GRAVY

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Saute the garlic, red pepper flakes, and herbs for 2 minutes until the herbs are fragrant and garlic is golden (but not overly brown.) Raise the heat to medium, add onion and carrot; cook for 5 minutes until they breakdown and are soft. Deglaze with red wine and reduce to evaporate the alcohol. Hand crush the canned tomatoes and add to the pot, along with its liquid. Add a pinch of sugar to cut down on the acidity from the tomatoes; season with salt and pepper. Let simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered.

WEEKDAY ITALIAN GRAVY

Steps:

• Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and then the sausage; cook, turning occasionally, until brown all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer the sausage to the slow cooker. Pour off and discard all the oil in the skillet and return it to the heat. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until brick red, about 1 minute. Add the water and bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up the browned bits. Pour the mixture over the sausage.
• Add the beef shins, crushed tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, onion, garlic, Italian herbs, bay leaf, salt, and pepper to taste. Set the slow cooker on LOW for 8 hours, cover, and cook until the beef is very tender.
• When ready to serve, bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 10 minutes. Transfer the sausage and beef to a cutting board, slice into serving portions, and arrange on a serving platter. Drain the pasta and toss with some of the sauce; transfer to a serving bowl.
• Serve the meat and pasta separately with sauce on the side. Freeze any leftover sauce for up to 3 months.

AUTHENTIC HOMEMADE ITALIAN GRAVY (SPAGHETTI SAUCE)

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or pot (large enough to contain all sauce ingredients) over medium heat. When hot but not smoking, add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent and garlic is fragrant. Be sure to stir every couple minutes so the garlic doesn't burn. If you want to leave the garlic in the sauce, you may do so, but if not, now is the time to remove garlic from the pot. I personally leave it in because my family loves garlic. If you choose to remove it, there will only be a very subtle garlic flavor present in the sauce.
• Add ground beef to pot with onion and olive oil. Fry, breaking up until small pieces are all that's left. Drain if excess oil is present; I recommend using lean ground beef for health reasons and draining.
• Once drained, add both cans of tomatoes, filling with 1.4 can of water afterwards to rinse the remaining sauce out and add to pot. Add chopped or broken up basil leafs if using fresh, or add dried basil at this time. Also add salt and pepper to pot. Stir well, breaking up any large chunks of tomato against the side of the pot.
• Allow pot to come to a simmering boil, and then turn heat down to low. Place lid on the pot, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes. When the proper time has passed, taste the sauce and add more salt and pepper to your liking.
• Once this time has elapsed, your sauce is done and you are ready to use it for whatever you want - baked ziti, lasagna, spaghetti, stuffed peppers, or over polenta. You can also make a meatless version by simply omitting the ground beef, and you may use the sauce for pizza as well! It's a great, flavorful, and very versatile sauce for all occasions. Enjoy!