Meatballs Polpetti Sunday Gravy Recipes

POLPETTE - ITALIAN MEATBALLS IN RICH TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large bowl add ground beef and crumble it with a wooden spoon or simply using your fingers.
• Add finely chopped shallot. I like to use a microplane grater as it extracts all the juices to go with the meat and minces the shallot really well.
• Add ground nutmeg, breadcrumbs, egg(s) and Parmesan cheese.
• Mix everything well with your hands.
• Slowly pour in the milk. Mix again until smooth and even texture.
• Add salt and pepper.
• If the mixture feels too dry add some more milk, if way too soft, almost liquid-y - add more breadcrumbs.
• An ideal meatball mix should be moist, easy to roll in your hands and hold the shape.
• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• Pinch of about an ounce of meat and roll it between the palms of your hands giving it a smooth round shape with no cracks.
• With an ounce of meat you'll have medium size meatballs, think walnut size.
• Of course you can make your meatballs smaller or bigger, depending your preference.
• Place rolled meatballs on a baking sheet (see notes!).Line with parchment paper to avoid extra cleaning.Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
• In a large skillet pan add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
• Add baked meatballs, tomato pure (clean the can/bottle with about a quarter cup water and add to the sauce).
• Add garlic cloves crushed with a flat knife, handful of fresh basil leaves and generous drizzle of dried oregano.
• Bring to simmer and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes.

SUNDAY GRAVY WITH BEEF OR PORK BRACIOLA AND ANNA AND FRANKIE'S MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Braciola: With meat cleaver or any heavy kitchen utensil, pound the meat slices between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Rub each piece of meat with the garlic clove. Sprinkle each slice of meat with and equal amount of cheese and parsley. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
• Roll the meat up tightly like a cigar, and tie with butcher's twine to keep meat rolled while cooking. Heat oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the meat rolls and fry for about 6 minutes or until evenly browned. Reserve meat for gravy.
• Meatballs: Combine beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add eggs, cheese, parsley, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Using your hands, blend ingredients. Add bread crumbs to mixture. Slowly add water, 1 cup at a time, until mixture is moist.
• Shape meat mixture into balls, approximately 2 1/2 to 3-inch balls.
• In a large skillet, heat oil. The oil should be very hot, but not smoking. Place the meatballs in pan, and fry in batches. When the bottom half of meatball is browned and slightly crispy, turn over and cook top half. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel.
• Sunday Gravy: In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and toss to coat with oil. Cook meat a few pieces at a time, about 5 minutes, until nicely browned on all sides. Remove meat from pan and set aside. When garlic cloves have browned, remove and discard them.
• Combine tomato paste and water and stir into oil. Stirring constantly, cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and juice, raise heat, and bring to a boil. Using a tomato can, measure 2 cans of cold water, add to pan, and return to a boil.
• Return beef and pork to the sauce, and add salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 5 minutes. Lower heat and partially cover pan. Cook for approximately 2 hours stirring occasionally until meat is almost falling apart and sauce is thick.
• One hour before sauce is ready, add the beef or pork braciola and sausage. Add the meatballs at the same time.
• To serve: Remove meat from sauce. Serve sauce over pasta, and the meats on a separate platter.

MEATBALLS (POLPETTI) & SUNDAY GRAVY

Steps:

• Place 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic in it for 3 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Set aside and allow to cool.
• In a large bowl, mix together the three meats with the bread crumbs, cheese, the cooled onion and garlic, parsley, salt and pepper and eggs.
• Shape the mixture into medium sized ovals, the size of extra large eggs. You should end up with about 22 meatballs.
• Brown he meatballs in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and proceed with the recipe for the famous Sunday gravy or simply submerge them in your favorite tomato sauce and gently simmer until tender. 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring periodically, always careful not to break the meatballs.
• When the sauce is ready, skim the excess oil from the top, adjust the seasoning and serve.
• Sunday Gravy: Place the 1/4 cups of olive oil in a very large heavy bottomed saucepot over medium heat. Saute the garlic for about 1 minute or until slightly golden.
• Add the tomato paste and fry it with the garlic for 5 minutes or until the paste is bubbling, constantly stirring so as not to burn it.
• Stir in the 12 tomato paste cans of water and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until thick.
• Add the pureed tomatoes, the 1 1/2 tomato cans of water, the oregano, salt, basil and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil then lower the heat so that the sauce barely simmers. Place a wooden spoon under the cover to keep the pot partially opened.
• While the sauce cooks, place the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and begin to brown the meat components evenly on all sides.
• After the sauce has been simmering over low heat for 2 hours, add the meat to it, being careful not to break the meatballs. Make sure the meat is completely covered by the sauce and continue to cook for 1 to 1 1.2 hour more hours, stirring periodically, always careful not to break the meatballs.
• When the sauce is ready, skim the excess oil from the top, adjust the seasoning and serve.

ITALIAN MEATBALLS AND SUNDAY SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• Dice 1 onion. In a large bowl hand crush the tomatoes. Alternatively, pulse the tomatoes in a blender for 2-3 seconds.
• Coat the bottom of a large heavy pot with a 1/2 cup of olive oil and saute the onions on medium-low heat until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the tomato paste to the onions and cook for 5 minutes, spreading the paste around with a wooden spoon.
• Add in all the hand crushed tomatoes, 1 tsp of kosher salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper and 1/2 tsp of sugar. Stir the sauce until incorporated and cook on a low simmer with the lid left slightly ajar. Stir the sauce every so often (very important!) to avoid sticking. The sauce should cook on low heat for at least 2.5 to 3 hours but longer will be better.
• Begin by grating 3/4 cup of parmigiano reggiano, mincing a half cup of fresh parsley, and creating garlic paste from 3 garlic cloves.
• Add the beef and ground pork to a large mixing bowl and season with 2 tsp kosher salt and a 1/2 tsp black pepper. In a small bowl beat 2 eggs and set aside.
• To the meat, add the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, parsley and garlic paste. Pour the eggs in and mix everything together. If the mixture is too dry, add one more egg to the mix.
• With wet hands roll approximately 2" size meatballs. The meatballs can be baked on a sheet pan with wire rack at 375f for 25-30 minutes or until brown in the middle of oven.
• Place the browned meatballs in the sauce and cook for a minimum of 1 hour on low heat to allow the meatballs to absorb the flavor of and braise in the sauce.
• When the meatballs are finished, serve with choice of pasta, grated cheese and Italian bread. Enjoy!

SUNDAY GRAVY (REAL ITALIAN SPAGHETTI SAUCE)AND MEATBALLS

Steps:

• SAUCE: Heat oil in large heavy pot (use a seasoned pot if you have one). Place the pork in the pot and brown until just about cooked. Transfer pork to plate. Do the same with the sausage and transfer to plate. Leave fat in pot. Add whole peeled garlic cloves cook until tender. Put garlic on plate with meat and stir in tomato paste until "saucy". Chop up tomatoes leaving the tomato juice in the cans (I use my chopper) and add them to the pot.
• Then add 1/2 of one can of the juice to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the meats and garlic to the sauce and bring to a boil. Turn down to low and cook for about 1 1/2 hours. Leave the sauce on low and remove all the meat and garlic cloves.
• Mix all ingredients for meatballs and shape into balls. Add to sauce turn up just a little higher than low and let cook the raw meatballs until they are done (1/2 hour) THATS IT!
• Now this is an old recipe, but I have seen it in the sopranos cookbook and this is a bit different.
• I used this sauce to make the ziti al forno from the sopranos cookbook (Recipe #73939) and it was the most amazing thing I have ever eaten, so I posted that too.

SUNDAY SAUCE WITH BRACIOLE, MEATBALLS, AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Make the sauce:
• Purée onions and garlic in a food processor until very finely chopped.
• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy ovenproof pot over medium-high. Cook onion mixture and 1/2 tsp. salt, stirring often, until liquid is evaporated and bits on bottom of pot are beginning to brown, 10-12 minutes. Add tomato paste, oregano, and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until slightly darker in color, about 2 minutes more. Add 1/2 cup water and cook, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot. Add tomatoes and their juices and 1 cup water; stir to combine. Stir in basil, season with pepper and remaining 1 tsp. salt, and bring to a simmer. Keep warm, stirring occasionally, until ready to use.
• Make the breadcrumb mixture:
• Combine cheese, parsley, breadcrumbs, and garlic in a medium bowl.
• Prepare the braciole:
• Preheat oven to 300°F. Lay beef flat on a work surface; season with 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 cup breadcrumb mixture. Working one at a time and starting at the short end, roll up beef, then tie in a few places with butcher's twine to secure. Season braciole with remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.
• Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Working in batches and adding remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to skillet as needed, cook braciole, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch.
• Transfer braciole to pot with sauce, cover, and bake 1 1/2 hours. Wipe out skillet and reserve.
• Prepare the meatballs and sausage:
• Mix ground beef, eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and remaining 1 1/4 cups breadcrumb mixture with a fork in a medium bowl. Shape into 12 (1 1/2") balls.
• Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in reserved skillet. Working in batches, cook meatballs, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch; transfer to a plate. Working in batches and adding remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to skillet as needed, cook sausages, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer to plate.
• After braciole has baked 1 1/2 hours, using tongs, gently lower meatballs and sausages into sauce. Cover pot and continue to bake until braciole is very tender and meatballs and sausages are cooked through, 25-30 minutes more.
• To serve:
• Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Transfer sausages, meatballs, and braciole to a platter; remove strings from braciole. Spoon some warm sauce over.
• Drain pasta and toss with as little or as much sauce as you like. Serve topped with Parmesan.
• Do Ahead
• Sauce can be made 3 days ahead; cover and chill, or freeze up to 6 months. Braciole, meatballs, and sausages can be made 3 days ahead; submerge in sauce, cover, and chill, or freeze up to 3 months.

SOPRANO'S SUNDAY GRAVY (SPAGHETTI SAUCE)

Steps:

• To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat.
• Pat the pork dry and put the pieces in the pot.
• Cook turning occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until nicely browned on all sides.
• Transfer pork to a plate.
• Brown the veal in the same way and add it to the plate.
• Place the sausages in the pot and brown on all sides.
• Set the sausages aside with the pork.
• Drain off most of the fat from the pot.
• Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes or until golden.
• Remove and discard the garlic.
• Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
• With a food mill (I use a Braun hand blender) puree the tomatoes, with their juice into the pot.
• Or for a chunkier sauce, just chop up the tomatoes and add them.
• Add the water; and salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the pork, veal, sausages, and basil and bring the sauce to a simmer.
• Partially cover the pot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours.
• If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little more water.
• Meanwhile, make the meatballs: Combine all the ingredients except the oil in a large bowl.
• Mix together thoroughly.
• Rinse your hands with cool water and lightly shape the mixture into 2 inch balls.
• Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet.
• Add the meatballs and brown them well on all sides.
• They will finish cooking in the sauce.
• Transfer the meatballs to a plate.
• After the sauce has cooked for its two hours, add the meatballs and cook for 30 minutes or until the sauce is thick and the meats are very tender.
• To serve, remove the meats from the sauce and set aside.
• Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce.
• Sprinkle with cheese.
• Serve the meats as a second course, or reserve them for another day.

MEATBALLS AND GRAVY

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat the egg, milk, cornstarch, onion, salt, pepper, nutmeg, allspice and ginger. Add beef; mix well. Shape into 1-1/2-in. meatballs. (Mixture will be very soft. For easier shaping, rinse hands in cold water frequently.) , In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the meatballs in butter, half at a time, for about 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove meatballs to paper towels to drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet. , For gravy, add butter to drippings. Stir in flour. Add broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Return meatballs to skillet; heat through on low. Garnish with parsley if desired.