Sunday Sauce
Serves 1
Directions
- 1Prep the tomatoes by running them through a food mill to create a puree like a pasata.
- 2Clean out the tomato can with water and add that water to the pureed tomatoes to compensate for evaporation during cooking.
- 3Combine the pureed tomatoes with garlic, basil stem, and olive oil in a large cooking vessel like a 10-quart rondo or stockpot.
- 4Place the sauce on the stove and bring it up to temperature while preparing the meats.
- 5Season bone-in English cut short ribs on all sides.
- 6Add olive oil to a pan on medium to medium-high heat and sear the short ribs until a nice crust develops on all sides.
- 7Transfer the browned short ribs directly into the tomato sauce.
- 8Drain excess fat from the pan, add a splash of white wine to deglaze, and then add the deglazed liquid to the tomato sauce.
- 9Stir the sauce occasionally while it cooks to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan, adding water if it gets too thick.
- 10Cook the short ribs covered in the sauce for about four to five hours until they are well on their way to being tender.
- 11Sear sausages on all sides until nicely browned.
- 12Transfer the browned sausages into the sauce.
- 13Drain any excess fat from the pan, deglaze with white wine or water, and add the liquid to the pot of sauce.
- 14Cook the sausages in the sauce for about an hour.
- 15Prepare the meatball mix by combining ground veal and ground beef with two eggs, mixing with fingertips until the egg coats the meat.
- 16In a separate bowl, whip two cups of ricotta with two tablespoons of olive oil and sea salt using an immersion blender until creamy.
- 17Take about a half cup of the whipped ricotta and add it to a bowl with tomato sauce, Pecorino Romano cheese, grated garlic, breadcrumbs, chopped parsley, salt, and black pepper, then mix well.
- 18Add the ricotta mixture to the meat mixture and combine with your hands, adding more Pecorino cheese and breadcrumbs if the mixture is too loose.
- 19Scoop and roll the meatball mixture into two and a half to three-ounce balls.
- 20Let the meatballs chill for 30 minutes.
- 21Prepare the remaining whipped ricotta for garnish by putting it into a piping bag or Ziploc bag.
- 22Pick basil leaves and get them ready for frying.
- 23Heat a good amount of olive oil in a pan, and once hot, deep fry the basil leaves until they turn a glassy forest green, then immediately remove them from the oil.
- 24Add the meatballs to the hot oil and sear them on all sides until nicely browned.
- 25Transfer the browned meatballs into the sauce.
- 26Cook the meatballs in the sauce for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- 27Occasionally check the consistency of the sauce and add water if it becomes too thick.
- 28When the short ribs start to fall apart and the sauce is nearly done, add salt to a pot of boiling water and cook the pasta (e.g., mezzi rigatoni) for about 10 minutes.
- 29Save some pasta water aside in case the sauce over-reduces.
- 30Drain the pasta after 10 minutes, then transfer some sauce to a saucier on medium heat, add the pasta, and meld for the final two minutes to finish cooking.
- 31Plate the pasta in a bowl with a generous amount of sauce on top.
- 32Plate the meats (sausages, meatballs, short ribs) in a separate bowl with a little sauce on top.
- 33Pipe dollops of whipped ricotta throughout the pasta and meats.
- 34Garnish with Parmesan cheese and crumpled fried basil.
Ingredients
- 1 number 10 can Bianco Dinapoli tomatoes
- water
- garlic
- basil stem
- olive oil
- bone-in English cut short ribs
- white wine
- ground veal
- ground chuck 80/20
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups ricotta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- sea salt
- tomato sauce
- Pecorino Romano cheese
- grated garlic
- breadcrumbs
- chopped parsley
- salt
- black pepper
- basil leaves
- mezzi rigatoni
- Parmesan cheese
Equipment
food millstock potrondo potpanimmersion blenderbowlpiping bagZiploc bagsaucier
Tips
- For Sunday sauce, use more sauce than you think you need as it will reduce and be absorbed by meats during long cooking times.
- Puree tomatoes through a food mill for a smooth pasata-like sauce.
- Deglaze the can with water and add it to the sauce to compensate for evaporation.
- Start the sauce and long-cooking meats like short ribs first to ensure they cook through by serving time.
- Cook short ribs covered for the first 4-5 hours to ensure tenderness.
- Maintain a low simmer for the sauce to prevent scorching.
- When making meatballs, mix eggs directly into the meat first, then add other ingredients.
- Adjust breadcrumbs and Pecorino cheese in meatball mixture until a firm ball can be rolled.
- Fry basil leaves until they turn a glassy forest green and remove immediately to prevent overcooking.
- Save some pasta water to adjust sauce consistency if it over-reduces.
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