Crockpot Meatballs and Red Sauce (Ragu)

This recipe is perfect for hot summer days when you don't want to heat up your cucina simmering, sauteing, and frying! This recipe will not be as thick as regular sauce and the meatballs won't have that crispy skin BUT the ease of making these and moisture you can only obtain from crock pot cooking will make up for it..... I promise. Plus I have a little trick for thickening up this sauce pretty well even in a crock pot : )

All my ingredients ready for the crock pot!

 Ingredients
Sauce: 
Three 28 ounce cans crushed Italian Plum tomatoes (Marzano) *see note below
4.6 ounces tomato paste (1 can or tube)
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup minced onion
1/3 cup golden raisins soaked in 1/2 cup white or red dry wine (remove and reserve the raisins for the meatballs)
olive oil (enough to coat bottom of crockpot
1 teaspoon sea salt and a small amount of black pepper
a few fresh basil leaves
1/2 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Meatballs:

2 pounds ground meat (half pork half beef or half turkey etc...)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove minced
olive oil to moisten
1 teaspoon salt and a little black pepper
a pinch or more red pepper flakes (to your taste)

My secret for thickening sauce in crockpot

The reserved 1/3 cup golden raisins
1-2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 - 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley 
1/4 - 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (Or for GF replace with same amount of finely grated Parmesan cheese)
1 egg beaten
Directions
Important!: Add oil, garlic, and onion to the crock pot and heat on high with the lid while you prepare the meatballs.
Meanwhile,heat up the wine in microwave for 1 minute, add raisins and allow to soak.
Mix meat, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs,minced garlic, chopped parsley, pine nuts, fennel seeds, redpepper, salt and pepper and stir well.
Add egg, olive oil, and raisins mixing well with hands.
Now add tomatoes (see note below), wine, tomato paste, basil, and oregano to crock pot and stir.

I usually make the meatballs as I add them to the sauce one at  time. I like them bigger for this recipe because they seem to hold together better.
Now very very gently push the meat balls down to cover with the sauce.
Cover turn down to low and cook for several hours.
* If the tomatoes are whole you can crush them in the cans with an immersion blender or add to crock pot and use an immersion blender in the crock pot before adding meatballs or blend in a blender for a quick few seconds or crush by hand but try not too not over blend.
  *You can also add the rind of the Parmesan you used to add more flavor.

Mom's Italian American Bolognese Sauce (Ragu alla Bolognese)

 

This is my version of my Mom's recipe that I have tweaked a bit over the years and it is always what I use in baked pasta dishes. There is nothing like a big pot of this ragu from Bologna simmering on the stove top all day to bring comfort to your home and heart! The carrots sweeten it up and the cream helps mellow it out. You can use any ground meat or any combo of ground meat you choose.I like part ground lean beef part ground pork part ground turkey.
Ingredients
2-3 pounds ground meat ( combo beef veal pork)
2 ounces chopped bacon or pancetta
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
3 grated, chopped, or minced carrots
2-3 stalks  minced celery
1large yellow onion chopped fine
salt and pepper to taste
32 ounces pureed Italian tomatoes

4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine 

1 cup beef broth 
1/4 cup milk (This helps tenderize the meat and protect it from the acids of the tomatoes!)
Serve with lots of grated Romano cheese or Parmigiana 
1 Parmesan rind (optional)
Directions
In heavy saucepan saute the bacon or pancetta until crispy.
Add the oil/butter and allow it to melt.
Add the onion along with the salt and saute until translucent. Add carrots and celery and saute for a few minutes or until soft.
Add the wine and cook for about 3 minutes cooking out the alcohol.
Add the meat and brown and breaking it up. Stir often. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes till the meat is well cooked and no longer pink.
Add the tomatoes and their juice and broth along with the optional Parmesan rind. Let cook at a slow bubble , about 20-30 minutes.

Add more wine and cook another 20-30 minutes simmering and stirring. 
After it has thickened a little you cover it and at a very low simmer cook for 5 hours. 
Add the cream and cook an additional 3 minutes just before serving.
Serve with  cheese

Pasta: traditionally this is served with tagliatelle, which is a thick pasta able to hold up to the sauce.

Marinara (Red Sauce)

Mia Famiglia!

My little sister Carol holding my nephew Adam, Me, My beautiful Mama Carolann, and brother- in-law Billy Ferrara aka Sylvester Stallone, our family's Hollywood Look Alike!

This is one of my favorite comfort foods and it all started with one of my earliest "Food Comfort" memories. My Mom had planned a birthday party for me at a pizza parlor, I was turning 8, and no one showed up and I mean no one. I was so sad sitting there at that red checkered tablecloth in my fancy dress glancing at the entrance every 5 minutes just hoping for atleast one friend to show. But no need to worry, because I had my big  Italian family and an even bigger bowl of spaghetti & rich red tomato sauce to comfort me. I remember my Mom saying in Italian, "Poveda Annuccia" which loosely translates to "Poor Pitiful Little Annie" then  my Dad taking cue and getting me a plate of spaghetti and  teaching me how to properly eat it, twirling it around the fork and slurping it in allowing the last piece of pasta to slap against your chin! Before long we were all gathered around the table slurping spaghetti, laughing, and making memories.
Spaghetti and tomato sauce is great for when you have to feed a crowd and was one of the first meals I served to guests in my own home and I still prepare this for my family and friends on a pretty regular basis. All you need to make it a complete meal is a salad, some bread, and Parmesan cheese. Oh yeah, a bottle of red table wine never hurts.
Ingredients
1 pound Italian ziti
2-28 ounce cans Crushed Italian Tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup of Fresh Basil  (1/2 reserved)
1 handful fresh parsley chopped
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
salt & pepper
olive oil
1/2 small onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon butter reserved to add at end
Parmigiana Reggiano
Directions
Mince the garlic and chop the onion finely.
Heat up the pan to medium heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom.
Saute the onion with salt until soft and translucent. You want a low slow cooking as to not brown the onion.
Add garlic and stir it so it does not burn while sauteing it until soft and tender, not brown.
Add the oregano rubbing it between your hands to release the oils. Stir allowing it to heat up and release more oils.
Pour in wine, turn up heat and cook out alcohol for a few minutes.
Add tomatoes, pepper, half the basil-torn into smaller pieces, and parsley, stir, taste for salt, and bring to a bubble.
*Note: At this point I also like to a piece of left over Parmigiana rind. I  freeze the rinds in small chunks. I seem to never run out and this adds so much flavor!
Lower heat to allow for a slow bubbly simmer.
Cook stirring here and there until it reduces and becomes a thick sauce, about 11/2-2 hours or more.
Serve right away or once it is thick enough turn to low, cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for as long as you desire.
Just before serving add the other half of basil and the butter to the sauce and stir.
Cook the ziti in plenty of well salted water until Al Dente and drain but do not rinse.
In a large serving bowl place half  the sauce with the steaming pasta and toss until well coated. 
Serve with more sauce on the side and freshly grated Parmigiana Reggiano!

Salsa Puttanesca (Patricia V. Davis)

Salsa Puttanesca
This is my friend's, Patricia V. Davis, recipe that is in her book: Harlot's Sauce and that is precisely what Salsa Puttanesca translates to: Harlot's Sauce. 

It is a very spicy sauce with a very saucy reputation! Some believe it was called so because it was the traditional sauce of the Neapolitan Harlots as they would prepare this very simple, quick dish after a long day at "clear throat" work, still others believe it was the dish they would use to seduce potential customers into their homes. Those Neapolitan "Hostesses" knew what they were doing, my husband is as thrilled to eat this simple dish (......almost as much as he is hearing me say it.......) as he is a steak dinner and I still have the energy left over to be "hostess" for him!
Ingredients
7 tablespoons good olive oil
1 large onion chopped
4 garlic cloves minced
1 cup water (Or : 1/2 cup pasta water & 1/2 cup white wine)
2 anchovy fillets, mashed with a fork
8 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced (I have also used canned whole Italian tomatoes)
10 Italian or Greek oil-cured olives, pits removed and sliced (These are hard to find in SC so I used Kalamata olives and I love olives so I doubled this amount!)
fresh chopped oregano and basil (I used dry oregano and fresh parsley since it's winter but I plan on using fresh in the Summer!)
red pepper flakes
salt & pepper
My addition:: a tablespoon capers
Directions
 Start your pasta water.
Saute the onions, garlic, and anchovies in the oil, not for very long or else the anchovies will have a strong fishy taste.
Add tomatoes and a bit of the pasta water or pasta water & wine and saute again.
When the sauce comes to a boil, add olives and the other ingredients you've chosen.
Reduce the heat, stir occasionally as it cooks, adding more pasta water  if it becomes too thick.
Sprinkle with the fresh herbs, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper, to taste.
Serve over spaghetti with some fresh grated cheese if you like.

Now put on a sexy outfit and say to your hubby, "How would you like some Salsa Puttanesca?" with your sauciest voice!

Soffritto & Sofrito!

~Soffritto Before~

~Soffritto After~

Soffritto
Soffritto was brought to Latin America cuisine via Italian & Spaniard immigrants and is the basis for many Latin dishes. I use soffritto for all of my sauces, beans, and soups. If you are wanting to learn Italian, Spanish, or Greek cuisine this is the recipe to start with. It is a "sauce" that is cooked low and slow consisting of 3-4 vegetables and a small amount of olive oil and you won't believe how much depth of flavor this adds. Southern Italians use garlic, onion, and olive oil and Northern Italians use onion, carrot, celery, and butter. Latins use onion, garlic, sweet pepper, hot pepper, and cilantro. I give all 3 of my favorites!

~INGREDIENTS~

Southern Italian Soffritto

1/2 small onion

2-3 garlic cloves

1 good pinch kosher salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup white or red wine

Northern Italian Soffritto

1 large carrot

2 celery stalks

1 large onion

1 good pinch kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup white or red wine

Latin Sofrito

1 large onion

4 garlic cloves

1 large sweet pepper

1 small tomato

1 bunch cilantro leaves

1 pinch cayenne

~DIRECTIONS~

Italian Soffritto

Chop only vegetables fine or process until fine.

Add butter/oil to pot and heat up.

Add soffritto & salt, cook until soft but not brown, low and slow.

Add wine and cook for 2-3 minutes or until cooked down a bit.

Proceed with recipe.

Latin Sofrito

Process evrything until smooth.

Freeze in individual baggies. One recipe will make enough for 5 servings of soffritto.

When ready to use simply add straight from the freezer to the heated pot you are cooking in along with a 3 tablespoons olive oil and a food pinch of kosher salt and cook until soft. Cook low and slow as you desire a soft but not brown sofrito.

Ragu Napolitana

~Casolaro Family: Ragu Napoletano runs through our veins!~

Ragu Napoletano
This is the sauce I grew up on and I believe it runs through my veins! My Father is from Naples and my Mother's family is as well so I feel it was my God given birthright ;) I remember this being on the stove top cooking all day Sunday and sneaking into the kitchen dipping pieces of bread into it, by the time supper was ready I must have already consumed a whole loaf of bread!
Ingredients
2 large cans (28-32 oz.) of Italian Plum tomatoes (San Marzano are the best!) crushed or whole tomatoes that have been crushed in a blender slightly using the pulse button OR squeezed by hand OR use an immersion blender straight in the pot
olive oil enough to coat bottom of pan
1 Tablespoon chopped or grated garlic
1 medium onion chopped
fresh parsley torn
fresh basil leaves torn
dried oregano-1 teaspoon
2/3 cup white wine
Salt & fresh ground pepper
OPTIONAL: If you have a small rind from Parmesan (I freeze them) add one when you add the tomatoes and then remove at the end, this adds so much flavor!
Meat: My Mom would use pigs feet and chunks of beef, My Dad would use braciole, meatballs, and or chunks of a pork-butt, I use braciole, meatballs, and sometimes sausage, use what you have but this is not the time to use a great cut of meat it is for more of the less tender cuts that need a longer cooking time. My friend Roxie uses ground beef and sausage. I even had a friend that put a whole cut up chicken in her ragu!
Directions
Heat oil and large pinch of salt in a heavy bottomed pot
Add onion and saute until translucent
Add garlic and lightly cook (do not brown) add oregano and stir (This is known as a Soffritto)
Add meat and brown
Add wine and cook for a few seconds
Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and herbs
Cover and simmer for several hours
near the end simmer with lid removed for atleast 30 minutes. The more you cook it with lid off the thicker it becomes. If it still too liquidy just simmer with the lid removed for more time.
At the end add a little more fresh basil and parsley and a tablespoon of butter.
To Serve Italian Style
Remove meat and cut up meats and or sausage into slices or small chunks, you will serve the meat on a separate platter. Use the sauce for some spaghetti and lots of Parmesan and bread to soak up the sauce!
“Among the liveliest of my memories are those of eating and drinking ; and I would sooner give up some of my delightful remembered walks, green trees, cool skies, and all, than to lose my images of suppers eaten on Sabbath evenings at the end of those walks.”
Mary Antin, 'The Promised Land' (1912)

Linguine & Red Clam Sauce

Linguine & Red Clam Sauce
This is my husband's favorite way to eat clams!
Ingredients
1 or 2 dozen fresh clams
1 large can crushed Italian plum tomatoes (San Marzano or Pomi)
1 cup white wine
olive oil (about 4-5 tablespoons)
1 clove garlic minced
6 fresh leaves basil
1/4 cup fresh parsley
red pepper flakes (to taste)
salt & black pepper
Directions
Mince or crush garlic. Cover the bottom of a large skillet (It needs to be big enoughable to hold the pasta and sauce at the end) with olive oil and cook the garlic on low and slow just until tender but not brown. Add the tomatoes and the herbs to the skillet along with the salt and both peppers. Simmer uncovered while you steam the clams and start the pasta water.
Start a large well salted pot for the pasta.
Steam the clams in a large pot with the wine for 5 minutes or till they all open. Remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon. Place into a bowl. Discard any unopened ones after most have opened. Do not remove the clams from the shells. Retain any juice from the pot: you can strain it through a fine mesh strainer to remove any sand if you are using "wild" clams but if they are "farm raised" clams they are probably okay.
Add the clams, shells and all to the skillet of tomato sauce along with the clam juice/wine mixture produced while steaming.
Simmer, uncovered for 15-20 minutes.
After the pasta is cooked al-dente add it to the skillet with the sauce and mix well. A set of tongs works great for this.
Serving Suggestions: No cheese! The Italians never serve fish with cheese. Lot's of bread to soak up juices and a nice light salad go well with this meal. Wine Paring:Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or Verdicchio.

Pasta Aglio Olio

Aglio Olio is an Italian sauce made up of garlic and oil (aglio-garlic & olio-oil) and has a long history. It is mentioned in the writings of Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79), A Roman, wrote that when garlic is “beaten up in oil and vinegar it swells up in foam to a surprising size”. This was how the ancient Romans ate their pasta before the the tomato was brought to Europe by the Spaniards. I love this recipe and it is my go-to meal for days when I don't have time to prepare anything in advance.

1 pound of thin pasta
3-8 anchovies (These are optional but you would surprised that they taste more nutty than fishy)
6 cloves of garlic grated
3/4 cup olive oil
salt&pepper
fresh parsley chopped

Prepare the pasta water by bringing to a boil and then adding a lot of kosher salt. Grate the garlic. Heat up a pan with the oil and saute the garlic LOW & Slow, this is important as it needs to be very low or else it will burn quickly. Add the anchovies and mash up into a paste. Continue to saute LOW & SLOW until it is a golden tone but not too dark.Take off heat and set aside.
Drain the pasta and reserve a cup of the water. Now you dump the pasta back into the pot and add the sauce tossing to evenly distribute the sauce. Add the reserved water if it is too dry. Add the parsley, fresh ground pepper, a drizzle more of olive oil, and serve with grated Parmesan if you like.