Sauce & Meatballs make Sunday dinner in an Italian household a comforting experience.
Smells are surer than sounds and sights to make heartstrings crack. ~Rudyard Kipling
Sunday sauce…freshly brewed coffee…baked bread…warm chocolate chip cookies…
Whether it’s the kids getting home from school, Hubby home from work, or a Girl Scout at the door, people can’t resist delicious aromas and they are not satisfied until they know what’s cooking. I never tire of hearing, “That smells gooood! Whatcha making?”
Would you agree that it’s the aromas born in the kitchen that make a house a home?
Sunday sauce is my go-to-olfactory-childhood-memory-reinforcer. (That’s a mouthful!)
Come rain or shine, Mom made sauce practically every Sunday and we were sure to enjoy the gifts of her Sunday morning labor at least twice a week.
It’s incredible to think about how the meals we ate so often, the meals that were so staple so seemingly rote, have become the meals that we want for almost every occasion.
My sauce and meatballs are a combination of many little things that I observed and learned from my mom and grandmothers through the years.
Like my mom, I use dried herbs (for the sauce), I brown my sausage in the pot before adding the tomatoes, and I cook my meatballs right in the sauce. Meatballs, by the way, that are happy to invite lots of cheese to the party. That was Mom’s secret to a great meatball – be liberal with the Romano!
I like to use a combination of beef, pork and veal, though you could use only beef and still have a fabulous meatball. After realizing that he wasn’t talking about me, I knew I had a winner when Hubby used terms like tender, delicate and complex to describe them…. 🙂
I tell you what – this is a meal worth making!
So roll those meatballs and make that sauce and treat yourself to a fine dining experience!
Buon Appetito!
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Sauce & Meatballs
- Category: Sunday Sauce
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Sauce & Meatballs make Sunday dinner in an Italian household a comforting experience.
Ingredients
- SAUCE
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 heaping cups chopped onion
- ¼ cup minced garlic
- 1 – 2 lbs. Italian sausage cut into links
- 5 lbs. tomatoes (San Marzano – whole, peeled and in their juice)
- 1 tbsp. dried oregano
- 1 tbsp. dried basil
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- MEATBALLS
- 2 lbs. ground sirloin, pork, veal (in equal portion)
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups grated Romano cheese
- ¾ cup chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped garlic cloves
- 1 cup Italian bread crumbs, seasoned
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- For the sauce, place the olive oil and onion in a large sauce pot and sauté lightly.
- Once the onions become translucent, add the garlic and sausage, making sure not to let the garlic burn (it will become bitter.)
- Brown the sausage on all sides.
- Next, add the tomatoes and their juice. Be sure to squash the tomatoes in your hand before delivering them to the pot.
- Stir in the oregano, basil, sugar, salt and pepper.
- Quickly bring sauce to a boil then lower to a simmer, stirring regularly.
- Let simmer for 3 – 4 hours and until meat is fully cooked.
- For the meatballs, combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Using your hands, mix the ingredients together.
- Shape the mixture into 2-inch meatballs, making approximately 30 meatballs.
- Gently place in sauce and cook for a couple of hours.
- Nothing left to do but boil some pasta and have a delicious meal!
- Enjoy!
CIAO!
Hi Annie, I’m trying new sauce recipes out. Will try tweaking my sauce with your spices. One question, do you put the meatballs in the sauce after it’s cooked for the 3 hours, and then cook if for 2 MORE hours?
Best wishes to your family, your Dad was my first principal!
Hi Jan, Nothing better than homemade sauce! Thanks for your question – and your kind words about my family… Dad will be happy to know you’ve reached out! I put the meatballs in as soon as I roll them out…the three hours includes the meatball cooking time. Enjoy!!
Great, thanks!
Is it a total of 2 pounds of meat or 2 pounds of each sirloin, pork and veal?
It’s a total of 2 pounds of meat. Our butcher does a mix of the three in two(ish) pound packages. Thanks for your question!
I completely agree that kitchen aromas make a house a home! And these classic meatballs with sauce are a perfect example of a cozy, welcoming home.
They are my go to for cozy cooking! 🙂
Those are some amazing meatball photos Annie! Totally inspiring me to make a batch! I love that they’re a good size and cooked in the sauce! I’ve never tried that, but I think it’s a must now!
Thank you so much, Leanne! I’d love to know what you think!! 🙂
One of my favorite comfort foods of all time. Gorgeous photos!
Thank you so much, Kevin! I appreciate that! 🙂
I have to agree with you! I think the best kind of comfort food is one that we’ve grown up eating! It’s so beautiful because it also has such a strong emotional connection! I love this recipe of the meatballs and sauce! It looks so delish!
Hi Samina! Thank you so much! I agree with everything you’ve said, 100%!
I really want to make this but I’m confused. The 1-2 pounds of sausage in the sauce section – after you brown it, what then?
Once you brown the sausage, add the remaining sauce ingredients and let simmer. The sausage will fully cook as the sauce does. Thanks for your question!
Simply mouthwatering, Annie! Your kids are some of the luckiest ones out there to have grown up with a mom who made such comforting food from scratch. There are meatballs in tomato sauce and then there are these beauties here:) Pinned and making soon because my little boy will be so happy to eat them!
Awhhh – thank you, my friend! I learned from the best! I hope your little guy loves them! xo
If you grew up eating this then I know it’s good and I need to try it! They look absolutely perfect! Happy weekend, Annie 🙂
I did! I did! It is my go-to when I’m feeling nostalgic! Thanks, friend!
My husband and my son Casey’s favorite meal ever Annie! I’ll need to try your version! I bet it’s fantastic! Happy Mother’s Day!
I think you guys will really enjoy! Have a lovely weekend, friend!
I legit want to eat that WHOLE pan right now! That looks divine, my friend! Didn’t see this one the first time round so happy you brought to us again 😉 Those, bread and wine and I’m one happy lady. Have a wonderful weekend! XOXO
Oh yes – we were desperate for some new photos! Thank you, my friend! We had meatball sliders….so good! Have a wonderful weekend, my dear! XOXO
There is nothing better in the world than Sunday sauce and the aromas that fill the house. Lovely!
Such a comforting aroma! Thanks, friend!
Wao! this is the stuff families are built on!! this is the key to happiness
I couldn’t agree more, my friend! <3
Wow!! Again, no surprise. This entry has us both a wee bit verklempt. This is so satisfying for us to read. We can only imagine how fulfilling it must be for you – a debt repaid by simmering pots everywhere. You always shared. Now everyone gets to benefit. MMMM….the pots will be on the stove pronto! Love you Sweeta!!
Wow – you just warmed MY heart! Thank you! Love you!