Jennie's Tomato Sauce ('Gravy')

"This recipe is flexible. You can adjust the amount of tomatoes, meat, and garlic to taste. Sometimes I add a bit of crushed dried chili flakes along with the garlic for extra kick. A handful of fresh basil stirred in at the end is nice. This sauce freezes beautifully, and can be used to make lasagna or baked ziti as well." Kristen Guida

• Italian sausages: hot or sweet, about 1 or 2 per person
• Pork chops: 1 or 2, to taste, with bone.
• Olive Oil: a few tablespoons (to cover bottom of pan)
• Crushed Tomatoes: 2 or 3 large cans
• Garlic: 4-6 cloves (maybe 2 or 3 per can of tomatoes), depending on your taste, minced.
• Parsley: chopped, a good handful
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Pecorino Romano cheese, grated, to taste and for the table.

METHOD

Prick sausages in a few places to release some of the fat. Put in a pan of water, bring to the boil. Boil for 3 or 4 minutes, then drain.

Shake a bit of salt onto the pork chop(s) to season.

Heat olive oil in a really big saucepan - enough to cover bottom of pan. When hot, add sausages and pork chops. Allow to brown a bit on all sides. If they stick to the bottom, let them sit a bit longer; they tend to release when they've browned.

Open cans of tomatoes and have them ready. Add garlic to meats in pan. Stir it around so that it cooks in the oil and starts to get golden colored. When it colors, add tomatoes. Be careful because it might splash. Rinse cans with a little water, and add that to pan as well. You want sauce a bit watery at first.

Stir to loosen anything stuck to bottom of pan. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Add salt and pepper. Simmer, covered for about 20 minutes until meat completely cooks through.

Stir in chopped parsley and a tablespoon or two of Romano cheese. Taste. Adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

Let sauce simmer for at least two hours, checking, tasting, and stirring occasionally. You can add water if it gets too thick, and let it boil down again. In general, the longer it cooks the better, but it's definitely not done if the pork doesn't fall off the bone.

Serve with your favorite pasta. Jennie used to make ziti or rigatoni. Before serving, make sure to fish out any pork bones. They can be sharp.

Take out sausages and larger bits of pork, put them in a bowl, and serve separately. Enjoy!

Serves: 4 or 8

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this recipe from www.inmamaskitchen.com

Contributor: Kristen Guida for Jennie Guida

 

 

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