# Sunday Sauce

A modern Sunday sauce recipe featuring rigatoni, ricotta meatballs, Italian sausage, and braised short ribs, designed to be better than grandma's but still make her proud.

- Cuisine: Italian
- Category: Sauce & Condiment
- Language: en

## 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

## Instructions

1. Prep the tomatoes by running them through a food mill to create a puree like a pasata.
2. Clean out the tomato can with water and add that water to the pureed tomatoes to compensate for evaporation during cooking.
3. Combine the pureed tomatoes with garlic, basil stem, and olive oil in a large cooking vessel like a 10-quart rondo or stockpot.
4. Place the sauce on the stove and bring it up to temperature while preparing the meats.
5. Season bone-in English cut short ribs on all sides.
6. Add olive oil to a pan on medium to medium-high heat and sear the short ribs until a nice crust develops on all sides.
7. Transfer the browned short ribs directly into the tomato sauce.
8. Drain excess fat from the pan, add a splash of white wine to deglaze, and then add the deglazed liquid to the tomato sauce.
9. Stir the sauce occasionally while it cooks to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan, adding water if it gets too thick.
10. Cook the short ribs covered in the sauce for about four to five hours until they are well on their way to being tender.
11. Sear sausages on all sides until nicely browned.
12. Transfer the browned sausages into the sauce.
13. Drain any excess fat from the pan, deglaze with white wine or water, and add the liquid to the pot of sauce.
14. Cook the sausages in the sauce for about an hour.
15. Prepare the meatball mix by combining ground veal and ground beef with two eggs, mixing with fingertips until the egg coats the meat.
16. In a separate bowl, whip two cups of ricotta with two tablespoons of olive oil and sea salt using an immersion blender until creamy.
17. Take 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.
18. Add the ricotta mixture to the meat mixture and combine with your hands, adding more Pecorino cheese and breadcrumbs if the mixture is too loose.
19. Scoop and roll the meatball mixture into two and a half to three-ounce balls.
20. Let the meatballs chill for 30 minutes.
21. Prepare the remaining whipped ricotta for garnish by putting it into a piping bag or Ziploc bag.
22. Pick basil leaves and get them ready for frying.
23. Heat 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.
24. Add the meatballs to the hot oil and sear them on all sides until nicely browned.
25. Transfer the browned meatballs into the sauce.
26. Cook the meatballs in the sauce for a minimum of 30 minutes.
27. Occasionally check the consistency of the sauce and add water if it becomes too thick.
28. When 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.
29. Save some pasta water aside in case the sauce over-reduces.
30. Drain 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.
31. Plate the pasta in a bowl with a generous amount of sauce on top.
32. Plate the meats (sausages, meatballs, short ribs) in a separate bowl with a little sauce on top.
33. Pipe dollops of whipped ricotta throughout the pasta and meats.
34. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and crumpled fried basil.

## Equipment

- food mill
- stock pot
- rondo pot
- pan
- immersion blender
- bowl
- piping bag
- Ziploc bag
- saucier

## 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.

## Source

- Original video: https://youtu.be/CpBwpbIMTw8?si=T9N89sx_cFof4e6B
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/d6e8cfe1-b461-4bfe-b470-5045e434d180
- Extracted: 2026-03-22

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt