Best Conforti Family Red Gravy Spaghetti Sauce Recipes

ITALIAN RED SAUCE AKA RED GRAVY OR SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Steps:

• Place olive oil in a large soup pot.
• Add garlic and simmer about one minute, do not let it brown.
• Put tomatoes in blender and blend briefly to smooth out the tomatoes.
• Then add to garlic.
• Cut Italian ham in chunks.
• When I order this from the Deli, I have them cut it in 1/2 lb slab.
• Add basil and crushed red pepper flakes.
• Let simmer about 6 hours.
• I always check the richness of the sauce by putting a spoonful in a clean bowl, let it sit for about 5 minutes and if water is seperating from the sauce, continue to simmer.

LASAGNA (AND THE SECRET!)

Steps:

• ** Ground beef & sausage can be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated.
• You should already have a batch of "Conforti Family Red Gravy" (see recipe) ready to go.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Mix the ground beef with the seasonings in a large bowl. Mix well and form into 5-6 large meatballs.
• Place meatballs on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake about 30-40 minutes, or until browned and well done. Set aside to cool.
• In a fry pan, brown the crumbled sausage. Drain well. Set aside.
• Turn oven temperature up to 400.
• Cook the box of Lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain & rinse well with cool water. (If using no-boil noodles, you can omit this step.)
• In a large bowl, crumble the meatballs and mix with the crumbled sausage.
• In your Lasagna pan, spoon some sauce to just cover the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of noodles.
• Then, add 1/3 of the ground beef/sausage mixture
• Spoon some Ricotta cheese over the meat and, using the spoon spread it around.
• Add a layer of Mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle some Parmesan.
• Repeat the layers two more times (sauce, noodles, meat, cheeses) to total 3 layers.
• ** Be sure to cover the noodles with the sauce so that the edges are not showing, to keep them from drying out)
• Top with a final layer of noodles, the last of the sauce, some Mozzarella & the cheddar.
• Cover with some aluminum foil (sprayed with non-stick spray) or "tent" the foil with toothpicks to keep it from sticking to the cheeses. Bake for 45 minutes.
• Remove the foil & bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese is golden browned.

SPAGHETTI SAUCE (AKA: RED GRAVY)

Steps:

• In a large dutch oven or 8 quart pot. briefly cook garlic and olive oil.
• Place fresh sausage and neck bones in pot.
• Add desired amounts of salt and pepper to meats.
• Add enough of the 2 qts. of water to cover meats in the pot, (not all of the water may be used). Cover and cook on low-medium for at least an hour. Do not allow water to boil; this will toughen meats.
• Add the crushed tomatoes to the pot and stir. Begin with 4 cans and add the last can according to desired thickness, remembering that sauce will thicken as it cooks.
• Add spices, again according to taste, and stir. More may be added as sauce cooks.
• Stir frequently and keep on low to medium heat, making sure sauce never boils. Continue to cook for at least 4 hours; sauce may cook longer if desired.
• Homemade or store-prepared meatballs may be added to pot.
• Serve over pasta, raviolis, or as a base to lasagnas and zitis.

JOHN SCHWEGMANN'S REAL ITALIAN MEATBALLS AND SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• To make sauce: Melt butter in a large heavy pot. Add the green onions, yellow onions, celery, bell pepper, parsley, garlic, and Italian seasoning and saute over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add the bay leaves and whole tomatoes and mash tomatoes against the side of the pot to crush. Lower heat and simmer for 1 hour, then add tomato paste and sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let simmer 2 hours. Add sugar, cover and let simmer another 2½ hours, stirring occasionally. If the sauce looks too thick a little water may be added.
• Prepare meatballs by mixing all ingredients, except olive oil, together. Roll into 1½- to 2-inch balls. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large skillet and saute in batches until nicely brown. Set aside.
• Add meatballs to sauce and continue simmering another 30 to 45 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Serve over spaghetti (cooked al dente) and top with freshly grated Romano cheese.

AUTHENTIC HOMEMADE ITALIAN GRAVY (SPAGHETTI SAUCE)

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or pot (large enough to contain all sauce ingredients) over medium heat. When hot but not smoking, add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent and garlic is fragrant. Be sure to stir every couple minutes so the garlic doesn't burn. If you want to leave the garlic in the sauce, you may do so, but if not, now is the time to remove garlic from the pot. I personally leave it in because my family loves garlic. If you choose to remove it, there will only be a very subtle garlic flavor present in the sauce.
• Add ground beef to pot with onion and olive oil. Fry, breaking up until small pieces are all that's left. Drain if excess oil is present; I recommend using lean ground beef for health reasons and draining.
• Once drained, add both cans of tomatoes, filling with 1.4 can of water afterwards to rinse the remaining sauce out and add to pot. Add chopped or broken up basil leafs if using fresh, or add dried basil at this time. Also add salt and pepper to pot. Stir well, breaking up any large chunks of tomato against the side of the pot.
• Allow pot to come to a simmering boil, and then turn heat down to low. Place lid on the pot, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes. When the proper time has passed, taste the sauce and add more salt and pepper to your liking.
• Once this time has elapsed, your sauce is done and you are ready to use it for whatever you want - baked ziti, lasagna, spaghetti, stuffed peppers, or over polenta. You can also make a meatless version by simply omitting the ground beef, and you may use the sauce for pizza as well! It's a great, flavorful, and very versatile sauce for all occasions. Enjoy!

JERSEY SUNDAY DINNER GRAVY

Steps:

• In a large, heavy pot, heat olive oil and add pork bones and beef. Brown all over about 10-20 minutes. Remove meat with slotted spoon. This is not a sauce/gravy for the crock pot since it would add too much water and the sauce would not stick to the pasta.
• Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic to hot oil and cook 10 minutes, until tender and stirring often. I put the above veggies in the food processor to get them very fine, almost grated, as you want this to be a smooth sauce. Add meats, both cans of tomatoes, wine, bouillon cube, spices and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover and simmer 2 hours or until meat is very tender and gravy has thickened.
• To serve, toss some of the gravy with cooked pasta of your choice and place rest of gravy in bowl on table. Place cooked meat in another bowl. Accompany with hard rolls, pecorino romano cheese, salad and a glass of red wine. Enjoy!

SOPRANO'S SUNDAY GRAVY (SPAGHETTI SAUCE)

Steps:

• To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat.
• Pat the pork dry and put the pieces in the pot.
• Cook turning occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until nicely browned on all sides.
• Transfer pork to a plate.
• Brown the veal in the same way and add it to the plate.
• Place the sausages in the pot and brown on all sides.
• Set the sausages aside with the pork.
• Drain off most of the fat from the pot.
• Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes or until golden.
• Remove and discard the garlic.
• Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
• With a food mill (I use a Braun hand blender) puree the tomatoes, with their juice into the pot.
• Or for a chunkier sauce, just chop up the tomatoes and add them.
• Add the water; and salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the pork, veal, sausages, and basil and bring the sauce to a simmer.
• Partially cover the pot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours.
• If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little more water.
• Meanwhile, make the meatballs: Combine all the ingredients except the oil in a large bowl.
• Mix together thoroughly.
• Rinse your hands with cool water and lightly shape the mixture into 2 inch balls.
• Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet.
• Add the meatballs and brown them well on all sides.
• They will finish cooking in the sauce.
• Transfer the meatballs to a plate.
• After the sauce has cooked for its two hours, add the meatballs and cook for 30 minutes or until the sauce is thick and the meats are very tender.
• To serve, remove the meats from the sauce and set aside.
• Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce.
• Sprinkle with cheese.
• Serve the meats as a second course, or reserve them for another day.

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350F.
• 2. Heat a large pot of 1/2 water, 1/2 chicken stock (2 quarts) to a strong boil. Add a Tbsp of salt.
• 3. Add the pasta & cook till al dente. Drain. **Note: Grandmom Elaine used to drizzle olive oil over pasta to keep it from sticking. But it keeps the cheese from sticking to the pasta so I don't use it.
• 4. Put pasta into an oven proof baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.
• 5. Add the Red Gravy, mix it in
• 6. Break up the Ricotta, then mix it in.
• 7. Add 1/2 mozzarella, mix it in
• 8. Top with provolones slices, if using. Then the remaining mozzarella, and the Parmesan
• 9. Bake 20-30 mins or until cheese is golden & sauce is bubbly.