Italian Red Sauce with Sausage, Meatballs and Braciole
On a recent work trip to Tucson, Arizona I was invited by a college roommate to extend my stay so we could spend the weekend together. As she and I were planning my visit, the only request I made of her was for her to agree to teach me how to make one of her favorite recipes and publish it on my food blog.
Rhonda and I enjoying a lovely Italian lunch in Tucson.
Rhonda Romane Valentino and I spent most of a recent Sunday cooking some of her favorite Italian recipes. The day started with a bottle of Champagne and ended with a bottle of Red and a delicious, love-filled meal. I’ll never forget the fun we had doing something together that brings both of us joy.
If you knew my generous friend of 36 years, you would know that she is an amazing cook. Rhonda has a giant heart for others. She loves to nurture friendships by inviting people in to her home for a great meal, delicious wine and conversation. Rhonda’s friends and family gravitate to her inviting home where everyone is welcome and nobody leaves hungry.
When a Romane marries a Valentino their home is sure to be filled with delicious Italian meals. In preparing this blog entry we spoke a bit about her heritage and love of cooking. Rhonda’s ancestors came from Modena, Italy. Her husband’s family came from Naples, Italy.
While Rhonda and I were college roommates at the University of Missouri, she invited me to go home with her to visit her parents in St. Louis. I will never forget meeting her father. As soon as we got to their home he had snacks on the kitchen table for us. As we were enjoying some fresh cheese and wine I watched him tend to a big pot on the stove while also taking quick breaks from cooking to check on the laundry in the adjoining room. As a young woman who was raised in a household where I only ever saw my father cook (and burn) chicken one time…seeing a successful business man cook and clean was eye-opening.
Rhonda’s late father, Artie, grew up working in his Father’s Italian restaurant in Peoria, Illinois called Romane’s Italian Villa. Once married he continued to assume the role of head cook for the family of four. Artie was certainly one of her earliest culinary influences.
As a new bride, one of the first things Rhonda did was get her hands on her husband’s family recipe for grandma’s meatballs and tomato sauce. Rhonda has been making this recipe for decades and I would say she’s perfected it. My dear friend does everything “Big”…including the amount of food we prepared.
I agree with her philosophy, if you’re going to take most of the day to create a perfect Italian sauce, you may as well make enough to serve a huge group and also have plenty to send home with friends as well as freeze batches for future quick dinners. Rhonda says this sauce and it’s additional meatballs freeze beautifully. However, all of the recipes featured today can be cut in half easily.
So find a lazy day, gather great ingredients, open some wine and get to cooking some amazing Italian sauce!
STEP 1 – Open a bottle of champagne and begin the sauce.
All of the ingredients for the base sauce.
Italian Tomato Sauce with Sausage, Braciole and Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic
- 3 29 ounce cans of tomato puree
- 3 29 ounce cans of tomato sauce
- 3 Tablespoons dried parsley flakes
- 1.5 Tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more or less for spice
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 pound hot Italian sausage, cut into 2 inch lengths
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, cut into 2 inch lenths
Instructions
- In a very large stock pot, melt oil and butter over medium heat.
- Add garlic and saute briefly, do NOT brown or it will be bitter.
- Quickly add some of the puree to keep garlic from burning and to infuse the taste.
- Add all ingredients from tomato puree through sugar.
- Stir to combine. Bring to boil. Then turn down to a slow simmer.
- While sauce is simmering, cut up Italian sausages into 2 inch lengths.
- Saute in separate skillet until brown on all sides.
- Add browned sausages to tomato sauce pot.
- Cover with lid and simmer on very low heat for 4-5 hours.
- We will also be adding in braciole and cooked meatballs (both are optional...but why not?)
- Periodically check the sauce. You may want to remove the lid at times, add a bit more liquid or even turn off the sauce and let it rest for 30 minutes and turn back on.
- Serve over hot pasta cooked al dente.
- Top with good Parmesan Cheese.
Brown one pound of spicy Italian sausage and one pound of sweet Italian sausage…afterwards add to the tomato sauce.
STEP 2 – Make Braciole
Flank Steak butterflied and pounded 1/8 inch thick.
Steak has been sprinkled with filling and now for the roll up.
Braciole is rolled, tied and sliced. Ready to add to the pot of tomato sauce.
Gently place braciole into pot and let it enjoy a 4 hour sauna.
Italian Braciole
Ingredients
- 1.5 pound flank steak, butterflied and pounded thin
- 1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh, minced garlic
- 1/4 cup Pine nuts
Instructions
- Ask your butcher to butterfly a flank steak if it's a thick cut. You want to end up with a piece of meat that is about 1/8th inch thick.
- Lay meat out and pound out until 1/8th inch thick.
- Sprinkle with bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic and pine nuts.
- Roll meat up, taking time to make it a tight roll.
- Using kitchen twine, tie up roll, spacing ties about every 4 inches.
- Slice rolled meat into 2 inch pieces. Making sure each slice has one length of twine holding it together.
- Gently add sliced Braciole into tomato sauce.
- Allow Braciole to simmer in the sauce...up to 4 hours or so. It will get very tender.
STEP 3 – Pour more wine and make the meatballs
Always good to sip champagne while making meatballs.
Now that’s a mountain of meatballs!
Beautifully browned and crisp. DO NOT SKIP browning meatballs before adding to the sauce. Browning holds them together and gives them and the sauce amazing depth of flavor!
Italian Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef (80/20)
- 1 pound ground pork - hot Rhonda likes Jimmy Deans
- 1 pound ground pork - regular Rhonda likes Jimmy Deans
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tablespoons dried Oregano flakes
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons freshly minced garlic
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine all ingredients.
- Gently mix with fingers.
- Once all ingredients are incorporated, form into golf ball size meatballs.
- Heat skillet over medium heat and sauce meatballs until all sides are browned.
- Work in batches. Do not crowd the skillet.
- Set aside cooked/browned meatballs.
- Add meatballs to hot tomato sauce pot during the last 2 hours of simmering.
STEP 4 – While the sauce simmers, enjoy a short nap.
STEP 5 – Select a hearty red wine and enjoy!
Delicioso!!! Such a great way to celebrate a low and slow batch of Italian goodness. A piece of sausage, a meatball and slice of tender braciole. The perfect meat TRIO!!!
