Good Morning Everyone!
Well, it's Sunday and it's cooking day! I've decided I am going to make gravy today. I found some really nice country style pork ribs with lots of dark meat. Between the meatballs and the pork ribs, it's going to be a yummy gravy! Now, here's the problem, I don't measure anything when I'm making it. I learned as a child with my grandmother. It was a conversation like this:
Nanna: hand me the salt, now watch
Shell: handed the salt and watched
Nanna: hand me the pepper, now watch
Shell: handed the pepper and watched
Nanna: chop the parsley, 2 handfuls
Shell: chopped the parsley
Nanna: peel the garlic and crush it
Shell: how many?
Nanna: let me see them, ok, give me 3
Ok, so you can imagine what it was like in the kitchen, I watched and learned. I will attempt to tell you how to make a good gravy and please don't be mad if I don't give you exact measurements! Gravy is all about your taste. However, the key is using quality tomatoes. I use San Marzano tomatoes. My hubby bought me 2 cases of imported ones for Christmas. They are called La Bella and you can find them in specialty Italian shops. They are not acidic and make an excellent gravy. If you find your gravy is acidic, just add a little sugar to balance out the acid, not too much though! Unless you like it sweet. Oh, I forgot "gravy = tomato sauce". Remember, I'm from South Philly and that's what we call it!
Here we go:
Brown your meat first whether it be sausage, a piece of pork, a piece of beef, meatballs, or any combination of all
Drain most of the oil from the pan, keep about 2 tablespoons.
Add 1 can of tomato paste, the small little cans, stir lifting all of the browned goodness from the bottom. The key is when the paste gets "black", it's done.
In another pot, depending on how much you are making, which size you use, remember, you need to add the meat and be able to stir. For this size a 6 to 8 quart pot will work.
Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large chopped onion (small chop) medium onion for a smaller gravy
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine (depends on your taste buds)
saute until softened (the onion will basically melt by the end)
Add 3 (28oz) cans crushed tomatoes - NOT the ones in a heavy sauce, just plain crushed tomatoes, unseasoned. You can also use whole tomatoes. If you do, you must crush them in a bowl first or if you don't want to use your hands, put them in a blender until crushed.
Add about 1/2 dozen basil leaves ripped into pieces. If you don't have fresh basil, use about a tablespoon of dried
Add about a handful of fresh, chopped, flat leaf parsley. If you don't have fresh, use about 2 tablespoons of dried
Salt and Pepper to taste
Let this begin to simmer, add in your tomato paste mixture
Simmer for about a 1/2 hour
Add your meat to the gravy and any juices from the dish
Simmer on medium low heat for about 2 or 3 hours. The meat must be cooked fully.
My grandmother used to say, "the gravy's done when the oil rises to the top". However, that's not entirely true because the oil will rise after about an hour. So, keep stirring (from the bottom so it doesn't stick), keep the sauce on medium-low, stir the oil back in and when the sauce has a little darker look and you don't taste raw tomato, then it's done!
I need to explain the need for tomato paste and "how many cans you gonna make" meaning.......Tomato paste gives the gravy body, makes it thick. If you use more than 3 cans, like 4 or 5 to make a big gravy, you'll need 2 cans of paste. As a kid, when discussing making gravy, the question always was "how many cans??" Funny how we knew exactly what that meant! If you want a really thick gravy, use more paste. If you want a thinner gravy or no thickness at all (like in Italy), do not use any. Just use some of the tomatoes to sop up the browned meat goodness in that pan. Please keep in mind, this is not a gravy from Italy, it's rather a morphed gravy from the immigrants who settled here. They used the items that were available in America and made the style we know today.
And, for a little insight into Italian Americans in South Philly, most people only like their "mother's or grandmother's" gravy, no one else's! It's a family thing, a specific taste you grew up with as a child. My favorite is what I've taught you above, it's the Bilotta family recipe. Now, please don't get the idea that all of the descendants of the Bilotta family can make this gravy yummy.....to the contrary. I had some Aunts and Cousins who could cook and some that couldn't, including my mother. Her gravy was not "nanny's", trust me!!!!! She could make other things, just not that.
When I make this gravy, each and every time, I go back to my childhood of those fun days in the kitchen. Nanny and I used to laugh and laugh. We had so much fun in the kitchen. She taught me how to cook, bake (not that I bake anymore), clean and how to use every pot in the kitchen! Well, that lesson I learned how to clean as I go. Oh, what a mess I'd have to clean up! But, the lessons learned were well worth the effort of cleaning the kitchen as a youngster. I guess you're wondering how old I was when I began the learning process??? I was 8. Yes, 8 years old. The life lessons learned were priceless and are carried with me until this day.
Ok folks, enjoy!!!!! I'll be making meatballs too and probably homemade gnocchi. The meatball recipe, I have no idea how to tell you how much of anything since I don't measure. But, I can give you the gnocchi recipe. Here it is:
4 large Idaho potatoes (about 2 1/4 pounds)
salt
2 large eggs
dash of white pepper
3 cups all purpose flour, as needed
boil the potatoes until fork tender, about 40 mins. remove from the water, let stand until cool to enough to handle, but not cold. The hotter they are, the fluffier they will be through the ricer. Peel the skins and rice the potatoes. Spread them out in a thin layer to expose enough of their surface to the air.
On your work surface, preferably a cool one, gather your potatoes into a well. Beat the eggs, salt and pepper and pour into the well. Work the potatoes and eggs together with both hands, gradually adding as much flour as necessary to form a firm, but moist dough. Stop frequently as you mix to scrape up the dough that sticks to the work surface, your hands, and reincorporate into the dough.
NOTE: forming the dough should not take more than 10 minutes from start to end!!!!! The longer the work your dough, the more flour you'll need, the heavier the gnocchi will be. As you work the dough, dust it and your hands and the work surface LIGHTLY with flour as soon as the dough begins to feel sticky.
Cut your dough into equal portions (about 6), sprinkle each portion with a touch of flour. Roll the dough in your hands into a rope about 1 inch thick, then cup the rope into approx 1 inch pieces. You can make them smaller if you'd like, or larger. Again, it's all about taste buds! Put the formed pieces on a lightly floured cookie sheet. You can make as much as you want for a meal OR all of them. If you decide to do all of the dough at once, you must freeze them individually. This can be tough if your freezer will not accommodate a cookie sheet.
What I do is make enough for a meal, then lightly flour the remaining portions and freeze them. I use freezer bags. When you want them again, just take your portions out of the freezer, take them out of the bag immediately, place on a lightly floured surface to thaw. Then make your ropes, cut and cook!
Ok folks, all of this typing is making me hungry! Time for breakfast!! Enjoy and please let me know how everything turns out!!!!!
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