Looking for yet another recipe concoction you can make at home, bottle, wrap in a big red bow, and give to gourmand friends for Christmas and Chanukah? Well, in addition to the Pickled Onions and the Fig Cookies, here’s a fantastic red gravy everyone will love.
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 small cans tomato paste
6 tomato-paste cans filled with water or chicken broth
2 teaspoons sweet basil
2 teaspoons Frank Davis Sicilian Seasoning
2 whole bay leaves
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 pounds #4 spaghetti, cooked al dente
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 garlic flavored bread sticks
If you follow these directions to the letter, this will be some of the best red gravy you ever had!
In a heavy 5-quart Dutch oven (not cast iron), heat the olive oil to medium high. Then drop in the chopped onions and the garlic and—stirring constantly—lightly sauté them together until they just soften (it is not necessary to brown the onions and you don’t want the garlic to burn). About two to three minutes should do it.
When the onions and garlic are uniformly blended, add the tomato paste to the pot and rapidly stir it into the mix. Remember—you don’t have to fry the tomato paste for eternity to make good red gravy. Actually, if you fry the paste for much longer than 5 or 6 minutes you will increase the acidity of the tomatoes and the gravy will be strong, harsh, and bitter. You want it to come out light and sweet, so just cook it a minute or two until the paste, onions, garlic and olive oil are mixed well.
At this point, add the chicken broth or water to the tomato paste and stir again until the mixture is silky smooth. Keep in mind that the secret to making gravy the right consistency is to use three cans of water for every one can of tomato paste.
When the sauce is thoroughly mixed, add the basil, the Frank Davis Sicilian Seasoning and the bay leaves and season the gravy with salt and pepper to your taste. All that remains is to simmer the gravy for about 45 minutes to an hour, depending upon what kind of meat is added to the pot (chicken, beef, pork, Italian sausage, etc.).
When you’re ready to eat, cook up your favorite pasta in about a gallon and a half of rapidly boiling lightly salted water until it is al dente (firm, yet tender but not soft). When it’s ready, drain it thoroughly (don’t rinse it!), toss it with about a cup or two of the tomato gravy to keep the strands from sticking together, sprinkle it liberally with the Parmesan cheese, and serve it piping hot!
I don’t care who’s tomato gravy you’ve eaten before, I promise you this one is gonna be your all-time favorite!
Mama Mia! Buono Natale!!
Chef’s Notes:
Oh—just for the record…you don’t add sugar to authentic Italian gravy. Prepare it properly and it will be light and naturally sweet.
