Italian Sunday Dinner: How to Make Neapolitan Ragù

Make Italian Sunday Dinner with homemade Neapolitan Ragù (Italian Sauce or Gravy) using fresh garden tomatoes, basil and garlic.

One of my fellow bloggers commented yesterday that it's never too early to start thinking about the weekend. By that he meant what else but...FOOD!

I know it's only Wednesday, but now is the time to start thinking about what it is you may want to cook this weekend so that you have time to prepare and shop for the items you may need.

As weather has it this weekend, Sunday looks like isolated thunderstorms in the northern NJ area which is the perfect kind of day to make this Italian Sunday Dinner with homemade Neapolitan Ragù.

What is ragù?

Neapolitan ragù is one of the two most famous varieties of meat sauces; the other one being Bolognese sauce.

Like Bolognese sauce, the Neapolitan version is also made from meat and tomato sauce; however, a major difference is how the meat is used.

Bolognese uses very finely chopped meat, while the Neapolitan version uses whole meat, taking it from the casserole when cooked and serving it as a second course or with pasta.

Now, THIS is the type of sauce I'm talking about when I make my sauce! Thanks to my Southern Italian Stepmother (Thanks Michele!), this was the ONLY way to make a red sauce.

And, when we made it, we made sure to use the largest pot we had so that you could freeze the leftover sauce and meat for other meals during the month.

This is also the perfect time of year to start preparing some meals to freeze now that sports season is approaching. And if you're like me, you're lucky to be home for ½ hour to feed the kids before heading out.

So that brings me to my pot of sauce I made this past Sunday. While visiting Southern Italy and hearing about how they eat pasta at least once a day and had the full 3-5 hour meal on Sundays, I got a little nostalgic and realized I hadn't made a pot of sauce for quite a few months.

Before you venture out and make this sauce, you need to be prepared to sit tight at the house for at least 5-6 hours the day you're making it. WHY you ask?

That's where all the flavor comes from (and you need to stir it every 15-20 minutes so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot and burn).

By letting the sauce simmer with all of the meatballs, braciole, pork, and sausage, those flavors meld with the sauce to give it that deep, red color. And, I promise you that you will never forget the smell that wafts through your home for as long as you live!

Prepare the meat

First, I prepare the meat I want to put in the sauce so that it is nicely browned and partially cooked. You don't want your meat to boil in the sauce and the browning helps add to the deep red color and flavor.

I use braciole, sausage, pork chops and Italian meatballs. You'll want to brown each meat separately in a large skillet until brown on all sides. Remove from the pan and keep warm until all the meat is cooked. 

Prepare fresh tomatoes

When using fresh tomatoes in your sauce, you must first steam them to remove the skins. Steam them in a steamer pot until the skins start pulling away from the flesh of the tomato.

Cool the tomatoes, then peel the skins and remove any blemishes or stems. Place the tomatoes in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

Make the neapolitan ragù

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat and add garlic and basil. Cook until the garlic starts to release smell and add your tomato products, water, parsley, and pepper.

Stir until the paste dissolves completely. If it still looks a little thick, add a little more water. While cooking, the sauce will thicken and reduce further.

Add your par-cooked meat and stir well; making sure it is all submerged. Lower heat to very low and simmer 4 hours; stirring every 15-20  minutes so that nothing sticks to the bottom and burns your sauce. Serve with cooked pasta prepared according to package directions.

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Neapolitan Ragù

Carrie's Experimental Kitchen

Make Italian Sunday Dinner with homemade Neapolitan Ragù (Italian Sauce or Gravy) using fresh garden tomatoes, basil and garlic.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Sauces

Cuisine Italian

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 4 cups pureed fresh roma tomatoes (approx. 20)
• 3- (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 18 ounces tomato paste
• 3- (28-ounce)cans water
• 4 tablespoons fresh basil (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons parsley (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ cup grated pecorino romano cheese
• par-cooked meat (meatballs, sausage, braciole, etc)

Instructions

 

• In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat and add garlic and basil.
• Saute until the garlic starts to release smell and add your tomato products, water, parsley, cheese and pepper.
• Stir until the paste dissolves completely. If it still looks a little thick, add a little more water (while cooking, the sauce will thicken and reduce further).
• Add your par-cooked meat and stir well; making sure it is all submerged. Lower heat to very low and simmer 4 hours; stirring every 15-20  minutes so that nothing sticks to the bottom and burns your sauce.
• Serve with cooked pasta prepared according to package directions.

Keyword tomato sauce

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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