I'm Going Full Italian Grandma - Meatballs and Sunday Gravy

Gabbagool! We’re about a month into our quarantine and I’ve been going a little nuts. Thank god for the online virtual classes or I’d be 300lbs considering I’ve definitely been reaching for comfort recipes. Let’s face it, you can make a “healthier” dish than a big bowl of pasta and meat… but you know what? Sometimes you just have to live a little. If you must make this in a healthier way, replace the beef, pork and veal with a very lean beef, or turkey.

A special shoutout to Sophia’s mom for recommending the addition of carrots to the meatball mix. The meatballs were very tender, juicy, and flavorful.

This recipe is derived from a Lidia Bastianich recipe. If you want to cook good Italian food to feed a crowd, she’s gonna be one of your best bets.

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Serves: A Lot

Ingredients

For the Meat-a-bools:

  • 1 Carrot Chopped

  • 2 Stalks Celery, Chopped

  • 1 Medium Yellow Onion, Chopped

  • 1lb Ground Beef

  • 1lb Ground Pork

  • 1lb Ground Veal

  • 2 Large Eggs, Beaten

  • 1 Teaspoon Oregano

  • 1⁄₂ Cup Chopped Fresh Parsley

  • 2 Cups Breadcrumbs

  • 1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese

  • 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt

  • 1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper

For the sauce:

  • 1⁄₄ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  • 1 Medium Onion, Diced

  • 2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt

  • 3 Dried Bay Leaves

  • One Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes

  • 4 Crushed Garlic Cloves

  • 3 28- Ounce Cans of San Marzano Tomatoes, crushed by hand.

  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste.

  • 2lb’s of Italian Sausage (I do one lb hot, one sweet)

  • 1lb Pork Spareribs

Preheat your oven to 450F

Add roughly chopped carrot, onion, and celery to a food processor and pulse until the mixture is almost like paste. Heat a pan with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat, add the vegetables, a couple twists of fresh pepper, and a pinch of Kosher salt. Cook on medium, stirring, for about 5 minutes, or until the mix becomes fragrant. Take off heat and let cool. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, scrape  into a large bowl, and add the meat, beaten eggs, oregano, parsley, bread crumbs, ricotta and salt. Wash your hands thoroughly, and then get in there, mixing well. Roll the meat into balls (I like mine to be about 2 inches in diameter), and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake the meatballs until browned all over, about 15 minutes. The meatballs DO NOT need to be cooked through, they’ll finish in the sauce. You can also brown the meatballs with some olive oil in the pot you’ll use for the sauce, which I like to do, as it is super tasty. But, it’s a little much.

For the sauce, I like to use a big, heavy bottomed dutch oven. Set it to medium heat and brown your spareribs with a SMALL amount of oil. Go in batches to brown your spareribs and sausages, then remove to a plate. Add the onion, and sauté on medium low until it turns transparent, NOT BROWN, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and toast for 1-2 minutes, stirring to ensure it doesn’t burn. Add in 1 teaspoon of the salt, the bay leaves, garlic and pepper flakes, cooking and stirring for another minute, then pour in the tomatoes. Slosh the the tomato cans with hot water, add to the pot, and stir. Stir in the remaining teaspoon of salt, and bring the sauce to a simmer; add in your spareribs, sausage, and meatballs. Return the sauce to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, until it has thickened. I like to add in fresh basil, about 5-6 torn up leaves. When the sauce has cooked for at least 30 minutes, I’ll remove the meat to a separate platter.

Add pasta of your choice to salted, boiling water. You will look for the cooking time on the package and cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than advertised. Taste the pasta, you want it to be just undercooked, or al dente. In a separate pan large enough to hold your pasta, remove the pasta from the water and reserve at least 2 cups of the pasta water. For one pound of pasta, add 3-4 cups of your sauce, and 1 cup of the pasta water to your pan, and cook, with the pasta, stirring for about a minute, until the pasta is at your desired doneness, and the sauce has thickened up and coated the pasta.

Serve with your meatballs and sausage, grated cheese, and if you like, ricotta.

Then go pass out.

Enjoy!

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