If you’ve read my blog long enough, you must know by now that I’m somewhat obsessed with slow cooked tomato sauces. There’s something deeply comforting about them, it reminds me of my mom’s bolognese during my childhood and for a chilly night, it on top of pasta just hits the spot. Actually, it was what I craved when I returned from Beijing last year!
It was only natural then that I became absolutely fascinated with the idea of Sunday sauce, what I imagine must be the Italian-American equivalent of a Sunday roast. Another name for it that comes up is Sunday gravy but I’m not clear on the etymology of it. I then recently caught an episode of Two Greedy Italians in which Gennaro Contaldo made a ragù alla Napoletana, a slow simmered tomato sauce cooked with plenty of meat. This surely must be the origin of the Sunday sauce (I have no confirmation of this – this is purely speculation!). A few Saturdays ago, I spent the afternoon putting together my own Sunday sauce.
This recipe takes about 2 and a half hours from start to finish. I’ve listed the meats that I used in my sauce but any pork, beef or veal cut that benefits from long, slow cooking would work here. Meatballs would also be lovely in here but I’d add them in for the last 30 minutes of simmering. This was fantastic; all the meats had given their meaty goodness to the tomatoes making for a rich, hearty sauce. At the end, you can even fish out all the meat and serve it separately – or, y’know, just serve it all at once (it makes for a rather grand-looking lot of food). Or even serve it like a stew with some good bread on the side. The recipe makes quite a bit of ragù for two people but it keeps very well and heck, there’s nothing wrong with eating it all week (which we did).
Sunday Sauce (Ragù alla Napoletana)
adapted from Two Greedy Italians and uh… this scene from The Godfather.
serves 6-8.
3 tbsps olive oil
1 large or 2 small onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves (optional), minced
about 500g Italian sausages, cut into large chunks
about 500g pork ribs, cut into individual ribs
about 500g stewing beef, cut into large chunks
200ml red wine
3 tbsps tomato paste
3 cans (400g each) of chopped tomatoes
a small handful of fresh basil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
This recipe is just stupid easy. Get yourself a large heavy pot. Heat it over medium heat, add the olive oil and let it heat. Add the onions and the garlic if you’re using it and cook until the onions become translucent. Add all the meat to the pan and stir occasionally, letting whatever’s at the bottom brown nicely. You could do this in batches but I found this worked just fine.
Dilute the tomato paste in some water and pour it into the pot along with the wine. Let it bubble away until it has been greatly reduced. Pour in the canned tomatoes, tear in the basil and add some salt and black pepper. Stir well – you want the meat to be all submerged. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat so the mixture is simmering. Half cover the pot and let simmer for 2 hours. Check occasionally – if it’s getting too dry, add some water. I found that I didn’t need to add anything since the pot was partially covered.
Adjust the seasoning to taste (even some sugar if you feel it needs it). Take out the meat and arrange on a platter. Boil up some pasta (I used fusilli but spaghetti is good too) and mix with some of the sauce – you may have more sauce than you need (not a bad thing). Serve the pasta as the first course and the meat second or just serve it all up together as we did.
Tue, 7 Jun, 2011 at 09:37
that looked so delish!
Tue, 7 Jun, 2011 at 09:58
I love ragu style sauces and I cook mine in an uncovered slow cooker for 9 hrs on low checking that there’s just enough liquid not to burn or dry out. But I never used sausage or ribs preferring chicken liver with a mix of pork and beef mince. Looks lovely though.
Tue, 7 Jun, 2011 at 10:10
So luxurious! Nothing like a good ragu.
Tue, 7 Jun, 2011 at 10:38
Reading this makes me just want to fast forward to Saturday so I can make some sauce!
Tue, 7 Jun, 2011 at 17:34
I love your little note on where the recipe was adapted from!
Looks really good.
Tue, 7 Jun, 2011 at 18:23
A bowl of carbs, covered in that and a very large glass of wine. All I’d need is to hear the sound of rain on the roof and I’d be in bliss. Just divine.
Wed, 8 Jun, 2011 at 04:07
sunday sauce was one of those things i wish i’d attempted before turning veg. love this post!
Fri, 10 Jun, 2011 at 15:25
I think I’m also a bit in love with the idea of sunday sauce! I love a good tomato sauce and to think, with it infused with soft soft meats and that sweetness they can give. YUM!
Sun, 12 Jun, 2011 at 15:47
Oh wow – that is a killer ragu! When I read Pomodoro! last year http://foodycat.blogspot.com/2010/09/review-pomodoro-history-of-tomato-in.html I remember he talked about Sunday Gravy as an Italian American staple, but I’ll have to look up that bit to see what the exact etymology was.
Mon, 13 Jun, 2011 at 12:18
kat: It was delicious, thank you!
Robert: I generally cook uncovered too but I found that half covering it just meant that I didn’t need to top up with water so often.
Sasa: Ooooh, thank you! Luxurious and yet totally lazy as well!
Gourmet Chick: Hooray for lazy Sundays!
Kavey: 😀 We’ve watched that film a lot.
Tori: The weather here recently has been absolutely perfect for that!
yasmin: There are a few slow cooked tomato sauce recipes that you could definitely still make…
catty: It is exactly as you picture it…utterly dreamy!
Alicia: Oh, how fab! Would love to hear if it’s something totally unexpected.
Tue, 14 Jun, 2011 at 19:01
Excellent! I’ve recently been looking for tips on how to make a slow-cooked tomato sauce (ever since having an awesome tomato sauce with crisp aubergines at an Italian resto). Will definitely try this out.
Truffle
Wed, 15 Jun, 2011 at 21:54
I was recently thinking it has been a while since I made a pasta sauce from scratch and now I am convinced that it is high time I make one. I adore a slow cooked sauce and this looks absolutely beautiful and delicious as well. You should submit it to recipe contests!
Sun, 10 Jul, 2011 at 18:29
I have really been wanting to nail down a good slow simmered tomato sauce, and I’m glad to find you are obsessed with it! Sometimes mine turn out too bitter or lacking the right flavor, then I ruin it by trying to add too much sugar or salt.
I noticed you linked three different recipes up in your “slow cooked tomato sauce” text, and I’ll check each of them out. I like the Italian sausage option – I use a lot of hamburger, but the sausage would infuse some really great flavor I’m probably missing. And, since I have a bunch of nice fresh basil in my garden, this would be the time to make some extra sauce and freeze if the winter. Thanks! 🙂
Erika K
Cuisinart 12 cup food processor