Spaghetti sauce or gravy? Growing up, gravy in our house was the brown stuff you ladle over mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, not the tomato sauce infused with garlic and basil and served with meatballs. I typically make a quick version, browning onions, garlic and Italian sausage, then adding tomatoes, seasonings and a good slosh of red wine. But when I want to have the whole house filled with the aroma of the garlicky goodness of a more traditional Italian gravy, I break out Vita Greco’s recipe.
Some of my east coast foodie friends shared this delicious recipe with me: pork ribs, Italian sausage and meatballs are sautéed in a wee bit of olive oil, then added to a tomato concoction flavored with flat leaf parsley, basil and garlic. Simmered for 3 hours, you’ll be ready to dive in by dinner time. Make sure to serve with some crusty bread to sop up every drop of this marvelous sauce.
Spaghetti with Sunday Gravy…adapted from Vita Greco
Olive oil
4 country style pork ribs
1 pound Italian sausage links
For meatballs:
1 pound meatball mix (equal parts ground beef, ground pork and ground veal) or ground beef
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
For gravy:
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can tomato paste
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
A few pinches of Romano
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 small can tomato sauce
1 small can water
In a Dutch oven, brown Italian sausage and pork ribs in a bit of olive oil. Pierce the sausage casings while first side is browning. Remove and set aside.
Make meatballs by mixing all ingredients. Scoop out tablespoons of mixture and form into balls. Brown in oil left in Dutch oven, adding more if needed. Remove when browned but not cooked through.
Add garlic to Dutch oven and sauté till fragrant, but not browned. Add tomato paste and cook for a few minutes. Add the rest of the gravy ingredients and bring to a simmer. Add meats. Simmer for about 3 hours with the lid of pot slightly askew. Stir frequently to prevent the bottom from scorching.
Serve over spaghetti.
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Katherine Martinelli~
Food on Friday~
{ 55 comments… read them below or add one }
Ymmy! Nice and filling dish for dinner.
The word pork ribs is making me drool, what more seeing you have added into this recipe, what more that beautiful green color of the Italian parsley adds such a contrast.
The idea of all those flavorful meats with the sauce is making me hungry. I want to reserve a seat at your dinner table-yum! Your family is lucky to have such a talented cook and baker in the house. Have a great day!
A big debate for years, we call it sauce, my father would roll over in his grave lol hearing gravy…. lovely dish looks perfect no matter what they called it…
ooh this reminds me of a dish I once saw on “no reservations”…yummy!
Dear Lizzy, There is nothing like the aroma of the house on a Sunday! I just love the memories. Wonderful Sunday dinner. Blessings, Catherine
Gravy it is at this house! Nothing like gravy. Looks awesome Liz!
Oh, Lizzie, it’s so delicious to you again!
Excellent proposal from Italian cuisine, and very attractive photos!
Elixir
Sounds delicious and my immediate thought when I read the title of your post was not SNL (surprise, surprise
), but spaghetti covered in BROWN gravy. Haha
Yeah, not Italian, but come to think of it my grandmother, who was of French descent, always called her sauce gravy. It just never stuck with me.
Also, Lizzy, congratulations!! Just saw that your lemon trifles were featured on Donsuemor’s FB page!! Woo Hoo!!
Sounds scrumptious;-)
I do like the Italian influence here.
Deelish!
haven’t had spagetti & meatballs in ages, thanks for reminder and thanks for visiting my blog!
I have my traditional spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove for dinner right now. I like your Italian gravy recipe though, another one for the must-make list
Your Sunday Gravy sounds so good. I can just imagine how good your kitchen must
have smelled, as it was cooking away.
My Mom never made spaghetti “sauce or gravy.” It wasn’t until I was marrie and had a family, that I made spaghetti sauce. I have no Italian blood, I guess.
This spaghetti sounds so deliciously filling with all the meat in it! Love it!
Ugh, need to stop reading your blog before lunch.
Sounds absolutely delicious!
Sounds like a delicious and thick gravy for spaghetti!
I love love love making a Sunday sauce (or gravy, lol). Whatever you call it, it’s perfection.
This is my husbands favorite meal! Spaghetti and meatballs with homemade sauce! (gravy) Looks perfect!
Drooling with everyone else. Would want to eat this every day of the week.
Just drooling over
…. I need to try it
Yum, yum, yum! You know I have a weakness for spaghetti and meatballs. You’re after my own heart here. What a perfectly lovely bowl. I would dive in, no worries.
I am going to have to give this Sunday sauce a try. Mmmmmmmm!
Looks great! I’ve never called spaghetti sauce gravy. Like you mentioned, gravy is what I put on turkey on Thanksgiving.
Perfect dish.
I’ve eaten “gravy” in my Italian friend’s house here in the U.S., but I never attempted to make the full version (yes, just like you, I tend to take a shortcut:)
But wouldn’t it be nice to have this beautiful dish simmering on the stove on a Sunday afternoon? Thanks for the prompt!
If only they served this gravy at boarding school, life would have been so much better. Congrats on the nomination, I see you are on top of the list. You should win
lizz, What can I say? You are a seasoned blogger and your picture perfect spaghetti and meatballs are making me drool.
I had to smile when I saw the title of this post. Ever since “The Sopranos,” my husband (who does not have an Italian bone in his body) has called spaghetti sauce “gravy.”
This sounds wonderful. I’d comment more but I’m now rushing to the kitchen to see if I can make this for dinner.
Simply Delish! An all time favorite at our house!
Sweet sassy molassy…my stomach is growling after reading this recipe.
Oh wow, I’ve never had Sunday gravy and since I don’t like brown gravy I probably would never have given it a second thought. So glad I saw your post because this looks fantastic!!
Add some Braciole and Bon Appetite!
Oh wow! This looks and sounds delicious Lizzy! I was the same way as you with what gravy meant but have learned the other meaning over the years of cooking. I kinda love the word now lol. Cause gravy is something you ladle heavily over something and Lord knows that’s what I want to do with this
I grew up on the east coast and we always flavored the “sauce” (not gravy in NYC) with pork neck bones. The ribs are a a grand idea. It does add oomph to the sauce. And it was the “long-simmering Sunday sauce.” Grandma would approve of this recipe!
Oh, MY! Delicious! I would call it sauce, but you can call it ANYTHING you want…. You can even call it: super-delicious-I’m-gonna-send-ann-some if you want!
You had me at garlic! I love to make anything with chopped garlic just so that I can smell my fingers afterwards…
Let me know when you make this again, and I will be right over! This sounds absolutely amazing!
One of my most favorite foods is spaghetti and meatballs. As a kid if I wasn’t eating that I’d be eating spinach, oranges, pickles or candy. Some crazy diet I was on. Anyway your version sounds spectacular and reminds me of the spaghetti I ate as a kid. I can’t wait to try this.
Wonderful!!!!
What a comforting dish after a long crazy day….
Beautiful Liz….
Italian sauces yes…but I’ve never heard of Italian gravy. It looks and sounds delicious!
Gli spaghetti con le polpette, per noi italiani un classico irrinunciabile!!!
Sei stata bravissima!!!!!
Mi inviti per pranzo????
Un bacio grande!!!!!
looks incredible n mouthwatery..;P
Tasty Appetite
Mmmmmmm!!! Spaghetti and meatballs , who does’nt love them . P.S: I made your lemon souffle and they came out perfect , it was so yummy:D .
Stellar sauce!! I’m sure with your ingredients it has a wonderful depth of flavor
Mary x
You can call this whatever you want, it looks amazing, Lizzy! I love LOVE using pork ribs in my sauce/gravy. It gives it such great flavor and it tastes SO good!
Talk about hitting it out of the park! Fantastic Liz, this will be simmering on my stove real soon. Double yum!
It’s funny, my old boss who was Italian used to joke around about the differences between gravy and sauce – for him it was apparently gravy, but for me (German/English ancestors) it’s always been gravy…
This is lovely, Lizzy. I haven’t had gravy in a while and it’s making me crave it. Am I imagining things or have you just changed your site with these cute raspberries, or have I been simply blind to all before? Well, I’ve noticed and they’re so sweet. Great design!
You really can’t go wrong with a delicious, homemade spaghetti and meatballs. This looks perfect for Sunday dinner with a glass of Pinot Noir!
Yum,Yum,Yum! We love this recipe. I will be making this again when all the kids are home to enjoy it. Gold Star for you Lizzy!
Great recipe. Would you be happy to link in to my Meatball edition of Food on Friday? This is the link . Hope you are having a good week.
I’m glad you don’t mind the reminder – had to have this one in the collection of meatball dishes.
This looks delicious. Thank you for sharing. I made some smoked meatballs on the grill last week; wonderful.
I can’t wait to try this.
Jeff
http://www.hometownslop.blogspot.com