SAUCE, GRAVY, SUNDAY SAUCE, "RED SAUCE" or SUGO ? What is it. It can be a couple different things. It depends on who you are talking to, if they are Italian-American or not, where their family comes from in Italy, and what Italian Enclave in America they grew up in : New York City, Boston, New Jersey, Baltimore, Cleveland, Chicago, or wherever?
Some, when they say Sauce, Sugo, or Gravy, they can be talking about a Tomato Sauce that was cooked with or without meat in it. They can be talking about a Tomato Sauce that was cooked with Meat in it, and the Sauce is served, dressing Maccheroni, but with the Sauce removed, for the Meat ( or Meats) to be served later in the meal, or put aside, refrigerated and served at another time.
Usually, when someone says "Gravy" they are referring to a sauce made with Tomatoes that meats, such as Italian Sausages, Braciola, Pork Ribs, Meatballs, and or Pork or Beef Neck, maybe chicken parts, Beef Chuck, or veal, in which the sauce is cooked with any combination of some of these meats mentioned, and possibly other meats, such as Lamb or Beef Short Ribs, whatever?
There is no one right answer to what is Italian-American Gravy, "Sauce" Sunday Gravy, Sugo, or Sunday Sauce. Again, it just depends on who is talking and their family background and history. There is now one standard answer, "No Right or Wrong." The main and most important thing is that the dish taste good.
Ragù in Naples is religion. A preparation that takes a very long time and requires considerable attention: it is not enough to cook meat and sauce for a long time. It takes seven or eight hours for this Sunday lunch dressing, so much so that the most shrewd recipes recommend leaving on Saturday: in fact, although in Naples you have a late lunch, and on Sunday even more, you should wake up before dawn to be ready just in time. In addition, the next day the sauce, as happens with many traditional preparations, condenses and settles, becoming even richer and full of nuances.
Eduardo De Filippo's memorable comedy, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, revolves around a meat sauce, and in the most realistic stagings the initial sauté is really prepared, spreading an incredible smell from the stage to the whole theater. Eduardo himself dedicated a short and beautiful poem to the ragù. The most evident peculiarity of the Neapolitan ragù is that, unlike the Bolognese sauce, the meat is not minced but comes in whole pieces: hence both the need to cook longer, and the possibility of having a complete meal, sauce to season the pasta and meat for the main course. The long preparation makes this recipe perfect for when we have a lot of time to spend at home: let's give it a try.
Meat and other ingredients of Neapolitan Ragù
What is the right meat to make ragù? Here there are as many versions as there are families in Naples and its surroundings. The general agreement is that a mixture of types is needed, certainly beef, but going into the specifics here are the differences: there are those who mix beef and pork and those who consider pork out of place; there are those who put sausages and those who even put meatballs in it; There are those who make a rind roll and those who add the further complication of the chop. Which is not grilled meat but the way it is called a particular wrap made with the locena (under the shoulder), stuffed with salt, pepper, raisins, pine nuts, chopped garlic and parsley, diced pecorino cheese.
Let's take an average between the most fundamentalist traditions and a availability within anyone's reach, and let's get the following cuts: a first choice of beef such as colarda (culata) or pezza a cinnamon (shoulder), a second choice such as lacerto (girello or magatello), a cut of pork such as tracchie or tracchiulelle (trimmings). Another key ingredient is tomato paste. Finally, the ideal would be to cook the Neapolitan-style ragù in the cuoccio, which is a terracotta pot.
The preparation of Neapolitan ragù
Sauté the onion in extra virgin olive oil, very gently. Add the meat and brown it well on all sides, always over low heat. Let it evaporate with the wine, strictly red: this operation should be carried out several times, not in one fell swoop. Then add the tomato paste a little at a time, making sure that it darkens but does not burn. During these operations, the meat will have to be turned over several times, so it is not the time to move away and lose sight of the sauce. Finally, add the tomato puree, possibly with half a glass of water, no more, and raising the heat gently, and for no more than a few minutes, just to rebalance the insertion of cold ingredients.
At this point, and at least two hours will have passed, the ragù must pippiare: this is the secret of the Neapolitan ragù, an effect that does not correspond precisely to the Italian simmering, and which consists of a slow evaporation, which produces an almost imperceptible noise and a movement bordering on the invisible on the surface of the sauce. To obtain it, it must not be covered - otherwise all the steam would condense and fall back into the sauce, watering it down - nor leave uncovered, at the risk of not being able to keep the temperature stable: place the lid slightly offset on one side, and held up on the other side with the inevitable wooden spoon.
This very thick and dark sauce is perfect for seasoning a large pasta such as paccheri, but its traditional accompaniment is smooth zite broken by hand. Welcome to Naples.
Minestrone may very well be the most popular of all Italian soups. It was first created as a way of using leftover vegetables from the previous night's dinner, so as not to let those vegetables or anything go to waste. Minestrone can be made from any variety of vegetables, most popular are: onions, potatoes, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, and peas. Add a little salt, pepper, olive oil, and garlic, cook and right there you have the basic Minestrone Soup. The main thing that makes Minestrone Genovese different from this or other basic Minestrone soups, is the addition when serving the Minestrone, adding a dollop of freshly made Basil Pesto, Genoa’s most famous food item of all, that just about everybody loves.
MINESTRONE GENOVESE
Ingredients :
5 tablespoons best quality Italian Olive Oil
1 medium Onion, peeled and chopped
2 Carrots, peeled and cut to medium dice
2 medium Zucchini, washed and diced ½” dice
5 plum Tomatoes, fresh or canned, chopped
2 large Potatoes, peeled and cut to ¾” dice
2 Bay Leaves
2 cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped
7 cups water
1 cup frozen Peas
2 cups fresh Spinach, washed and chopped
¼ pound Stellini Pastina, or Ditalini
1 teaspoon each of Salt & ground Black Pepper
1 - 15 ounce can Cannellini Beans
3 tablespoons Basil Pesto (preceding Recipe)
Preparation :
Add the Olive Oil and chopped Onions to a large stainless steel pot.
Turn the heat on to medium and cook for 4 minutes while stirring.
Lower heat to low, and add the garlic. Cook on low heat for 3 minutes.
Add the Tomatoes. Sprinkle a little salt & black pepper over the tomatoes.
Cook on medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Add the Carrots and Zucchini and stir.
Add the Potatoes, the water, and Bay Leaves, Slat, & Black Pepper. Turn heat to high and bring all to the boil.
Once the water is boiling, lower heat so the soup is at a low simmer. Let cook for 25-30 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, cook the pasta in a separate pot in boiling salted water, according to directions on the package. Strain the pasta in a colander and let cool.
After the soup has been cooking for 25 minutes, add the Cannellini Beans, and cook on medium heat for 4 minutes.
Add the Spinach and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the cooked Pasta and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.
The soup is done.
To serve, fill a soup bowl with the Minestrone. Add a small dollop of Basil Pesto and serve.
Enjoy!
This Recipe is complements from author Daniel Bellino
It is excerpted from his forthcoming cookbook, which he is currently working on. The working title of the book is “Rome Venice Pizza Pasta and ???”
Note : This is what is known as a “working title” and it may or may not be the Title of the Book, once published.