Nonna’s Sunday Gravy
I recently watched the hit Netflix movie, Nonnas, about a man opening a restaurant in Statin Island, NY, where all of the chefs are Italian Grandmothers or Nonnas, based on a true story of a restaurant that is still open today. Among the array of delicious looking food that was featured on the show, including Capozzelli…look that up at your own risk, there was one dish that caught my eye, that being the famous Sunday gravy.
This recipe seemed to baffle the movie’s main character, Joe Scaravella, as when his Nonna died he never found out the recipe on how to recreate it to his own memory. Well, luckily that recipe is here, now, so I have decided to try making that Sunday gravy and see if it’s any good.
The gravy, or tomato sauce, features a very unique ingredient that provides natural sweetness to help boost the sweetness of the tomatoes, that secret, spoiler alert in case you haven’t seen the movie, is apples! A fruit that I had never considered adding to a pasta sauce until now.
Thinking about all of this food is making me very hungry, so let’s do it!
Serves 4 or 5
2 red apples, quartered
7 cups water
6 links of sweet or hot Italian sausage
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and choopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (15oz each) whole peeled tomatoes
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt, to taste
Place the apples and water into a pot and bring it to a simmer. Allow it to cook for an hour, or until the apples are very soft and the liquid becomes cider. Strain through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth, discard the apples, and set aside to cool.
Rinse out the pot, then cook the sausages in the same pot over medium heat until they are browned all over. Remove from the pot, pour off the fat, and set aside.
Add the oil to the reserved pot, then add the onion and bell pepper. Cook for a few minutes, or until the onion starts to soften, then add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the tomatoes and apple cider, then bring to a simmer and cook, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon, until smooth. Add the basil, oregano, pepper, and parsley. Thinly slice the sausages, then add to the pot and let everything simmer away for 4 to 6 hours, stirring occasionally.
Season with salt to taste, then serve over any cooked pasta.
