Best Recipe for Sunday Gravy and Macaroni (Spaghetti, really)
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, for both meats and sauce
- 3 thin cut pork loin chops, 1/2-inch thick, cut in 1/2
- Salt and pepper
- 2 each sweet and hot Italian sausage links
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, for moderate to spicy marinara
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped, 3 for sauce, 2 for meatballs
- 1 small onion, minced
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a couple of handfuls of leaves
- Several leaves fresh basil, torn or chopped, a handful
- 1 pound meat loaf mix, ground beef, pork and veal combined, from butcher counter
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2 handfuls, plus extra for tossing pasta and to pass at table
- 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, 3 handfuls
- 1 loaf crusty Italian bread, for serving
Instructions
- Heat water for pasta to boil. Salt and cook pasta 7 to 8 minutes, to al dente.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Heat a deep skillet or medium heavy bottomed sauce pot over medium high heat. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Halve sausages. Add 1 tablespoon, 1 turn of the pan, extra-virgin olive oil to pan or pot. Place chops in pan or pot and brown 2 minutes on each side, remove. Add another tablespoon oil, 1 turn of the pan, and sausages. Brown sausages 2 minutes on each side and transfer to plate with pork. Add pepper flakes, 3 cloves chopped garlic and onion to the pot and saute 1 minute. Add broth to the pan and scrape up drippings. Add tomatoes and herbs and bring sauce to a bubble. Add meats back to the pot and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer sauce until ready to serve, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Combine ground meat, egg, remaining 2 cloves chopped garlic, 1/3 cup cheese, and bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper and roll into balls, 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Place balls on nonstick cookie sheet. Roast meatballs 10 minutes, then slide into Sunday sauce and turn off oven. Add bread to oven to crisp crust.
- To serve, place pork, sausages and meatballs on serving dish. Pour 1/2 of the sauce into a serving dish to ladle over pasta and meats at the table. Toss cooked spaghetti with remaining sauce in sauce pot, adding a few handfuls of grated cheese to the pot as you toss it. Transfer pasta to a serving dish.
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