ORIENTA’S ITALIAN TOMATO SAUCE Recipe
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Category: |
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 3 lbs. Beef Country Spare Ribs, cut into 2 rib pieces
Olive Oil
2 or more Italian Sausages
1/2 lb. or more Ground Beef (Optional – Or also use the Meat Ball recipe below)
1 46 oz. can Tomato Juice
1 large (12 oz.) can Italian Tomato Paste
1 heaping tbs. Sugar
1 large Bay Leaf
1 clove Garlic on a toothpick (for easier removal later)
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Directions: |
Directions:Brown spareribs on all sides in a little olive oil, fat side down at first to provide rendered fat. Remove from pan and reserve. Cut sausage in one-inch pieces and brown. Reserve. Brown ground beef for topping, if desired. Reserve. Add tomato paste to pan, mixing with fat and loosened pan juices. Add tomato juice gradually, over low heat. Add sugar, bay leaf and garlic. Cook on low heat for 1/2 hour. Return spareribs to the sauce and cook for 40 minutes more. Add meat balls and sausage to the pan and cook for 20 minutes longer. The sauce should be covered and simmering the entire time. If the sauce is thick enough it is done. If it needs further thickening, remove the meat. Reserve. Cook uncovered to thicken, stirring frequently. It should not need more than another ten minutes of cooking.
Remove the bay leaf and the garlic clove and discard. Cool sauce. Place in refrigerator overnight. Next, if desired, make meatballs. |
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Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: I acquired most of my Italian recipes from friends when I moved to the mid-Bronx when I was 15. The friends were three sisters – Orienta, Lucretia and Helen, and their brother Babe who acquired this name when he was too old to be called Baby. Knowing how much I loved eating at her parent’s home, Orienta invited me for a cooking lesson shortly after she married Willie. I went to their apartment and spent most of the day watching Orienta cook and helping whenever possible. While in the kitchen she explained to me the Italian custom that there were certain days of the week when spaghetti was on the menu, including Sundays when it was served as a first course in a soup bowl. I understood then how it became part of your security as a family member. WOW! So, how to make spaghetti sauce must always be learned first because it is a necessary ingredient for most meals.
Orient’s family came from Naples, Italy. She has always cooked in the time-honored Italian way with spaghetti being served on certain prescribed days of the week and with other favorite dishes appearing on the menu often. Her husband’s family also came from Italy so they are in complete agreement in keeping up the family food traditions. Most first-generation American Italian-descended men and women want only fresh tomatoes for their tomato sauce. Orienta went a step further, growing the tomatoes for the sauce. The tomatoes were scalded, skins and stems removed, then put through a food mill. Since the fresh tomatoes were ultimately turned into a tomato juice, I start with grocery store tomato juice instead. Any canned tomato juice will do if it is without salt.
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