The word “gravy” doesn’t do much for me, probably because I didn’t grow up with gravy. My mother didn’t make gravy. After moving to Texas as an adult, I watched my husband eat biscuits and gravy in horror. The gravy was white, with too much black pepper, and tasted like dishwater.

But recently I’ve been seeing Sunday gravy, which is a real thing for Italian Americans. There’s not one recipe, not surprisingly, but it’s a red sauce made with a variety of meats – pork, beef, veal, sausages – that are browned, braised and then simmered in sauce. Most likely it’s called a Sunday gravy because the cooking takes place over the weekend, and the pasta is served Sunday evening.

I still don’t like the word “gravy,” but there’s nothing quite like a hearty meaty sauce with pasta on a cold winter day. And it’s winter now.

The recipe I chose is from the blog Platings and Pairings. It’s Erin’s Italian nana’s recipe. She writes that she basically lived in “food heaven’ growing up, with most all of her Italian relatives living on the same block!

For the recipe, Erin uses pork spareribs, Italian sausage, and beef stew meat. I think short ribs and meatballs would be wonderful to include as well.

Pasta with Sunday Gravy
Or, Sunday Pasta!

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound pork spareribs
1 pound beef stew meat
1 pound Italian sausage (spicy or mild, based on personal preference)
6 cloves garlic (peeled and left whole)
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 – 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
8 leaves fresh basil (torn into small pieces)
Salt and Pepper (to taste )
1 tablespoon sugar (more or less based on the flavor of your tomatoes)
Parmesan (shaved, for topping)
Cooked pasta

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 beef 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 and beef.

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. (Obviously I added the tomato paste and garlic together.)

Add the tomatoes to the pot. Add the water; season with a pinch salt and pepper.

Return the pork, beef, and sausages to the pot and bring sauce to a simmer.

Partially cover the pot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for at least 2 hours. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little more water.

(I removed the pork spareribs, let them cool, shaved off the meat, then returned the meat to the sauce. The stew meat and sausages I left as is.)

At the end, adjust your seasonings one more time with salt and pepper. Add basil leaves and serve over your favorite pasta, topped with shaved Parmesan.

I cooked some beautiful pasta flowers instead of using spaghetti.