Sunday Gravy
Instructions
Gravy
In a thick-bottomed pot, put the olive oil, the battuto (carrot, celery, onion, garlic and bay leaf). Turn heat to medium-low and saut slowly. This is your soffritto (the odori, flavoring vegetables and herbs). You want these ingredients to be translucent, not browned, so they infuse the oil with their flavor.
Crush the San Marzano tomatoes with your hands until they are all broken up into rough chunky texture. Discard any basil, peel or stems or veins on the inside of the tomato (usually white or yellow).
When the soffritto is translucent and sizzling a bit in the oil, add the tomatoes. Stir to mix the tomatoes and the suffritto. Add the basil and parsley sprigs and submerge in the gravy. Add the sea salt. Reduce to low heat, cover the pot and simmer gently. Stir the pot frequently so it doesnt burn. This is a long-simmered sauce and will cook for at least 3 hours after the meat is added to the gravy.
Meats
Braciole
Finely chop the parsley and garlic. Set aside. You will use half for the braciole and half for the meatballs.
Lay the pork and beef braciole out flat on the board. Take of the garlic/parsley and equally divide the garlic/parsley paste between the two braciole. Spread the paste evenly over the surface of each braciola leaving about a 1/2 inch border at the long edges. Sprinkle cup grated Pecorino evenly over both braciole. Sprinkle salt and tower to taste over both.
For the pork braciola only: Spread 12 toasted pinoli and 12 raisins evenly over the pork braciola.
Tightly roll up each braciole and tie with string to keep the paste inside and to maintain the shape of the braciole.
Meatballs (Polpette)
Put the ground meat, the remaining chopped garlic/parsley, Pecorino, stale bread pinada, egg, and ground salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Combine the ingredients with your hand. Squeeze everything together so that it is a homogeneous mixture. Put about 2 tablespoons of the meat into the palm of your hand and roll into a ball, round and slightly flat.
Over a high flame, heat a large saut pan, add the canola and EVOO and heat until it ripples and smokes a bit. Add all the meat and reduce heat to medium-low and cook the meat until a brown crust forms. Cook the meat in batches if necessary so you dont crowd the pan. Do not touch the meat until you can easily move the meatballs, sausage and braciole in the pan, without them sticking. Turn over and brown on the other side. You want to caramelize the meat and form a nice brown crust.
When well browned, transfer the meat, except the meatballs, in the gravy. Make sure all of the meat is submerged. Leave the lid of the pot ajar a bit to let some of the water evaporate so a thicker gravy forms. Gently simmer for at least 3 hours on a low flame. You want the braciole to tenderize by simmering in the gravy. Add the meatballs to the gravy about a half hour prior to cooking the pasta.
Cooking the Pasta and Finishing the Dish
Put the water and salt in a large pot. Make sure that the pot is big enough to allow the long fusilli to dance in the salted water. Cook about 8 minutes until the pasta is very al dente. It will finish cooking in the gravy in a saut pan.
Put about 2 cups of the gravy in a large saut pan and heat over a medium flame. Pull out the al dente fusilli and put in the saut pan. Finish cooking the fusilli in the gravy, turning it so that the gravy is absorbed by the pasta to finish cooking. You should just have enough gravy to fully coat all of the fusilli.
Close the flame. Grate Pecorino to taste and mix to distribute it throughout the pasta. If you wish, drizzle with a good quality EVOO.
Remove the strings from the braciole and slice into inch slices. Put the braciole, meatballs and sausage on a serving platter and top with some of the gravy.
Serve the pasta in a warm bowl or plate. Traditionally, the pasta is served as a separate course, followed by the meats as the next course. To be honest, I usually serve the pasta and the meats at the same time. My guests can decide how to enjoy the pasta and the long-simmered meats.
