sunday sauce.

My grandparents on my fathers side are from Sicily. For many sundays since I was born, we’ve eaten pasta and sauce. It was tradition and not to sound like a typical Italian retard, my  nonna ( like most Italian grandmothers I’m sure) made amazing sauce and her pasta was always the best. This winter, I attended sunday sauce at Lauren’s parents house and was blown away by the spread ( and meatballs). I enjoy being Italian ( real Italian) for this reason and this reason only. Well, that and Sicily is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. My family has tried to stick to following my nonna’s tradition on sunday but it’s difficult getting us all together and spending the whole day cooking a huge pot of sauce ( especially when asado is in order). 

Last sunday I was feeling nostalgic so Shawn and I attempted to mimic sunday sauce. With fresh ingredients, the right blend of spices and patience (  I feel like I am advertising for olive garden), we made one hell of a pot of sauce.  Plus we guesstimated just about each thing in it. Trial and error, right? Let’s be honest, if it has garlic in it, it has to be good.

A glass of red vino, oven baked garlic bread and freshly picked basil to top it off*, I think this simple bowl of pasta was a success. My nonna would have been proud. 

* blood, sweat & tears.

Ingredients:

I used whole wheat penne, but you can use whichever pasta you fancy.

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tablespoons red wine
• 1/2 cup finely shredded carrots
• sea salt and  ground pepper

Meatballs:

• 1/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup grated Romano
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground turkey, dark meat
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• I also added hot & sweet italian sausage I purchased from the store. 3 links each. chopped and added with meatballs.

Garlic Bread:

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 loaf Italian or French bread, sliced in half
• extra virgin olive oil
• grated parmesan cheese
• crushed red pepper flakes ( optional)

Directions

For Sauce:

In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5-10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick.

For Meatballs:

In a large bowl add bread crumbs milk and mix until well combined. Mix in eggs and 1/2 cup Romano cheese and mix well. Add turkey and gently combine, being careful not to overwork the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Shape into golf-size balls.

In a large skillet heat the oil over medium high heat. When almost smoking, add meatballs and sausage and without moving or turning the meat, allow it to brown for about 3 minutes. Turn meatballs and brown other side. Continue to cook until all sides are golden brown, about 8 minutes total. Add tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow meatballs and sausage to simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and keep warm on stove. Be careful not to overhandle the meatballs since they are soft and fragile.

In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse pasta with water since you want to retain the pasta natural starches so that the sauce will cling to the penne.

For Garlic Bread:

Combine garlic and oil in a microwave safe dish or in a small saucepan. Heat garlic and butter and oil in microwave for 1 minute or in a small pot over moderate-low heat for 3 minutes.

Toast split bread under broiler. Remove bread when it is toasted golden brown in color. Brush bread liberally with garlic oil. Sprinkle with cheese, if using, and parsley. If you added cheese, return to broiler and brown 30 seconds. Cut into chunks and serve.

22 April 2010