Recipe courtesy of Vinny Vella Sr.
Vinny's Gravy
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: about 6 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 6 servings
- Calories
- 1383
- Total Fat
- 78
- Saturated Fat
- 23
- Carbohydrates
- 108
- Dietary Fiber
- 8
- Sugar
- 13
- Protein
- 63
- Cholesterol
- 206
- Sodium
- 1678
- Total: 3 hr 15 min
- Prep: 15 min
- Cook: 3 hr
Ingredients
Meatballs:
One 5-inch piece Italian bread
Milk, as needed
1 pound ground beef
1/2 ground pork
1/2 ground veal
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 to 3 tablespoons Italian-flavored breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs
1 clove garlic, cut into razor thin slices
Olive oil, as needed
Sauce:
Olive oil, as need
1 clove garlic, cut into razor thin slices
1/2 small onion, chopped
One 6-ounce can tomato paste
Red wine, enough to fill the tomato paste can
One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
Salt and pepper
Sausage:
Olive oil, as needed
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, fry until hard
1 pound hot Italian sausage
1 1/2 pounds spaghetti
Directions
- To make the meatballs: Put the bread in a bowl and drench with milk. Let soak for a few minutes, and squeeze the bread out like a sponge.
- In bowl, mix together the beef, pork, and veal until well combined.
- In another bowl, whisk together the Parmesan, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt, pepper, eggs, and garlic.
- Add the cheese mixture and soaked bread to the meat and mix well. Form into meatballs.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. A little olive oil and fry the meatballs in batches until well-browned and "hard", as Vinny says.
- Vinny says, "Eat a few."
- To make the sauce: Heat a pot over medium heat and add enough oil to cover the bottom. Add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Add the tomato paste. Fill the tomato paste can with wine and pour into the pot. Add the tomatoes, and fill the can with water¿add the water. Add the parsley and salt and pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thick and fragrant, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- To make the sausage: Wipe out the skillet you fried the meatball in, and heat over medium-high heat. Add a little olive oil and brown the sausages in batches.
- Add the meatballs and sausages to the sauce and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes.
- When ready to serve, cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions. Drain.
- Transfer the spaghetti to a large bowl and add a few spoonfuls of the sauce (without the meatballs and sausages). Mix to coat the spaghetti¿it should be only lightly coated with the sauce, adjust with more accordingly.
- Transfer the sauce to a platter and serve alongside the spaghetti at the table.