Sunday gravy – it’s the one thing that has actually brought me joy during this time. Making friends and family gravy and pasta has brought a sense of peace and normalcy to an otherwise dull routine.
And during these past three days, I’ve been stress cooking a lot. Hence today’s atypical recipe post on the blog to keep my mind occupied (and hopefully yours too <3). I’ll be sharing my methods for making gravy and gnocchi.
No matter which American-Italian household you enter, you will find a different recipe for Sunday gravy, passed down from nonna to nonna. They all may be a bit different, and that’s OK. I was #blessed to grow up surrounded by amazing cooks in my family, who have taught me well. I wanted to begin this post with a narrative, but then remembered this:
So with that, let’s begin!
Important note: For this recipe, I’m not using any meat (when I do make meatballs, I throw them right in the gravy to cook). For most, it is only considered gravy when meat is involved.
Ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Minced garlic
- 2 onions
- One can of crushed tomatoes (Cento preferred)
- One can of tomato paste
- One can of tomato sauce
- Water
- Salt
- Basil
- Pepper
- Oregano
- Bay leaves
- Parmesan cheese
- Red wine – while I’m using this delicious Cabernet Sauvignon pictured above, you’ll probably find Cantina Zaccagnini, aka “stick wine”, in other recipes. Feel free to pour yourself a glass, and turn on this playlist.
Directions:
- Drizzle oil on the bottom of your pot
- Add minced garlic and chopped onions on the bottom, let sizzle until fragrant
- Add in the three cans of your tomatoes – crushed, diced, sauce
- Cup of water – I just filled up a sauce can and use that to add in the water
Add in the following spices:
Important note – I don’t have an exact measurement for these spices, I throw ’em all in until I taste what I like
- Salt
- Pepper
- Oregano
- Basil
- Bay leaves
Other accoutrements:
- Parmesan cheese (a friend suggested to me recently to throw in the rind of Parmigiano Reggiano, a concept!)
- A splash of red wine
Let simmer for three hours. Stir occasionally, as the gravy may burn. And of course, you’ll want to dip your bread just to sample the taste.
This is a recipe that will take time to perfect, but I haven’t had any complaints yet!
Gnocchi Recipe
Ingredients:
- Two potatoes
- One egg
- 2 cups of flour
Yup, that’s it.
Directions:
I’ve added in photos below for reference.
- Boil two potatoes until they are soft enough to pierce with a fork. The boil time is crucial – you don’t want your gnocchi to be too soft, or too hard and potato-y.
- Once they’re done boiling, remove potatoes from the pot and let cool.
- Peel your potatoes, and mash them in a bowl
- Once mashed, crack an egg as in the method in the photo below.
- Combine egg and potatoes together.
- Add in two cups of flour, and create a dough
- Quarter your dough into four pieces, and roll out long individual pieces. Cut your gnocchi from there.
- Should you wish, you can add flair to your gnocchi by either placing a thumb print, or rolling them on a fork (photos below).
- Put your finished gnocchi into a pot of boiling water, waiting until they rise to the top.
Do you or your family add in other ingredients or use other methods into these recipes? If so, let me know!
Bonus: Excerpts from Lorraine Ranalli’s Gravy Wars
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