Sunday Sauce, Gravy, Meat Sauce…it gives me all the feels. I was always a fan of Sundays. Yes I know…growing up that meant school the next day, but it also meant that my family and I would go to nonna’s house with my cousins and aunt and uncle. It meant for a few hours, we would sit around a dining room table and catch up from the week, laugh, share stories, and eat really, really good food. Always pasta with homemade sauce filled with sausage, pork ribs, chicken, meatballs.
I am lucky enough that my family jars their own tomato sauce every August. It’s a strenuous, long process, but it is worth every second. It also always happens to be the hottest day of the year, but we somehow make it through, every single time. The jars keep us stocked throughout the year, and makes making dinner either during the week or on the weekend, very easy.
Bolognese vs. Meat Sauce
The two get mixed up, and understandably so. I myself have thought they were one in the same at a point in my life. So, what’s the difference?
Bolognese doesn’t actually have any tomato sauce in it. The traditional recipe has beef, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, tomato paste, stock, milk (believe it or not!) and bay leaves. It’s a thick sauce, and a lot of reducing is required. What you’re left with is this umami-packed, lucious and hearty sauce.
This meat sauce is more sauce-based. I started the same way, with carrots and onions (I left out the celery). I decided to use sausage instead of beef, for two reasons: 1. It was what I had in the freezer (ha!), and 2. Sausage to me has a great depth of flavor that you can’t get from beef. I added tomato paste, similar to the bolognese, but also a jar of sauce. Being this does have more of a liquid consistency, it’s a little lighter, which is a nice change of pace every now and then!
The little touches.
I love adding a rind of Pecorino or Parmesan, if I have it in the fridge. Letting the sauce cook for an hour and a half with a rind really gives it that extra punch of flavor.
This sauce is even better the next day! One of my favorite things to make the following day is heating up the leftover meat sauce in a shallow pan, and cracking some eggs into it. This is was a dish my mom made us all the time growing up. Let the whites cook through, pair it with some crusty bread, top it with a little salt and hot pepper….I promise you won’t be disappointed!
I paired this delicious sauce with spaghetti, and topped it with more fresh basil, parsley, and chopped fresh mozzarella. You can make your favorite pasta shape – short would work, too. If you don’t like mozz (are you crazy???? JK), or just prefer something creamier, a dollop of ricotta would be deeeelicious on top!
Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 links of sausage hot or sweet
- 2 carrots peeled and finely diced
- 1 small onion peeled and finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves diced
- 1 can/jar of tomato sauce 32 oz.
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- Pecorino or Parmesan rind optional
- 1 ½ teaspoons of salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
- Fresh basil and parsley
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven, sauté the onions and carrots in the three tablespoons of olive oil for about five minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add in your garlic, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Using a knife, slice the links open and add the sausage meat to the pot. Cook the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, for about 8-10 minutes while combining it with the onions and carrots.
- Add in the tomato paste, and combine it with the meat mixture for about 3-4 minutes. Pour in the sauce, mixing everything together. Bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and add in a handful of chopped fresh basil and parsley, and the rind if you are using. Let the sauce cook for about an hour and a half, stirring every half hour. After the 90 minutes, taste to see if you want to add more salt (if you’re using the rind, you may not need to).
- Pair with your favorite pasta, garnish with some grated cheese, more fresh basil, and maybe even some chopped fresh mozzarella!
Delicioso!