Homemade Sunday Tomato Sauce (not gravy!) and meatballs

Growing up Italian meant large Sunday Suppers every week at Grandma and Grandpa Scali’s house where the whole extended family would come. It was always pasta and sauce with meat and meatballs and a light salad from her garden. Probably because it was the cheapest way to feed 20+ people! To this day, one of my favorite scents is sauce cooking on the stove, because it brings back fond memories of our family getting together and just being together talking and laughing. This is before there were cell phones, or multiple tv’s in the house, where you were forced to visit -imagine that! Some of the fondest heartwarming memories made, which made us such a strong family that we still are to this day. When a bunch of us get together we ALWAYS make this dish and do it together with a little vino! We truly enjoy each other’s company and to cook together because of these Sunday traditions. I hope with this recipe you can start some traditions of your own!

Homemade Tomato Sauce

2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes -Only San Marzano tomatoes!

1 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes -San Marzano

(I use a mixture of the two because I like the consistency of the sauce. But you can use only peeled, or only crushed if you like)

1 can tomato paste

½ onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

Fresh basil (a handful of big leaves, roughly chopped)

Fresh oregano (a few sprigs, leaves pulled off and roughly chopped)

S&P to taste

Olive oil for sautéing

What you’ll need: a BIG stock pot, a thick wooden spoon

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil on medium heat until translucent. Salt and pepper them. Then add cans of tomatoes. Cook down until whole tomatoes start to break up on medium heat, then mash them with a masher to further break down. Then add tomato paste and S&P and reduce to a simmer for 1.5-2 hours on the stove. Meat can be added early in simmering process to flavor the sauce(see options). Stir the sauce every 15 minutes or so, so it doesn’t stick to the pot. Turn on some music, pour a glass of wine (or juice?) and enjoy the process. After 1.5 hours add the fresh oregano and basil and let simmer a little longer. Check again for S&P to see if it needs more.

Optional: can add one whole carrot to sweeten the sauce while simmering

Optional: to further flavor the sauce you can buy pork neck bones, spare ribs, veal chops, or Italian sausages, etc. if doing that, brown the meat in olive oil on both sides in the pot before sautéing the onions and garlic. Remove browned meat and start process. Add meat back in to simmer with the sauce.

Meatballs

1 ground beef

1/2 ground veal

1/2 ground pork

2 garlic cloves minced

2 large eggs

1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

2 T flat leaf parsley chopped (I always use a ton!)

S&P

2 cups bread crumbs (can use stale bread crumbled, panko, or regular non flavored)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl with your hands then roll into meatballs. You can fry them in a pan on the stove, or broil them in the oven just enough to make sure browned on all sides. Then you throw them into the pot to simmer along with the sauce!