The Great Sauce-Gravy Debate

Now that you’ve found the right flour and perfected your pasta, the next step in authentic Italian cooking is mastering the marinara. But first, let’s discuss the elephant in the room--what to call it. As any Italian-American can attest to, whether to call that red stuff that clings to your pasta “sauce” or “gravy” can be a hot-button issue. 

Growing up, I was a firm believer that gravy necessarily entailed a meat base; therefore, I was always part of the sauce camp. However, my great-uncle Paul, the man who passed down the secret ravioli recipe to me, was a staunch supporter of the term gravy. “They’ll know you’re not a true Italian if you keep calling it sauce,” he would warn me sternly before heading over to the pot to taste and critique my work.

The sauce-gravy war raged in my family for years with many heated debates over dinner, and I never wavered in my position--until this year’s St. Anthony’s feast in the North End. When my mother and I came across an apron that said, “It’s gravy, not sauce,” we decided to concede. I haven’t told my Uncle Paul yet, but I’m sure he’ll be happy the next time he comes over for pasta and sees me wearing that apron.

Regardless of whether you call it sauce or gravy, you should know how to make it well. Again, I can’t divulge my family’s recipe, but I will provide you with a few tips on crafting an authentic, delicious sauce (whoops, gravy):

·      Garlic. Lots of garlic.

·      Start with tomato paste and regular tomatoes.

·      Allow it to simmer for at least four hours.

·      Taste it throughout the day to see if it’s too sweet or too tart and adjust accordingly.

·      NEVER use the jarred stuff. 

Fantastico…adesso, mangia! Ciao!    

It’s all in the Dough: Choosing the Right Ingredients for Authentic Pasta

I was most likely the only American teenager to ask for a pasta machine for Christmas back in 2007. While my friends excitedly loaded their new iPods with the latest music, I was instead eager to buy some semolina flour and put my shiny new pasta maker to work. Since then, I’ve made dozens of batches of homemade ravioli using my great-great-grandmother’s secret recipe. While I can’t divulge her recipe here without risking my place in the family, I can share some of what I’ve learned about making authentic Italian pasta by hand-- starting with the right ingredients. 

Flour, in particular, can completely alter the way your pasta turns out. Avoid using white flour and instead look first for semolina. Pure semolina can be challenging to find outside of Italian specialty stores-- a string of confused Stop and Shop stock boys has taught me this lesson. However, combination semolina/fancy durum “pasta flour” is another great option that is available in most supermarkets.

Investing in the proper flour is really all you need to set the stage for fantastic, authentic pasta, especially considering how inexpensive and simple the rest of the ingredients for the dough are. In addition to your semolina or pasta flour, the following are all you really need to make your dough:

·      Eggs

·      Extra Virgin Olive Oil

·      Water

·      Salt

As a final tip on pasta flour, I suggest always buying an extra bag. Semolina or pasta flour doesn’t just go into the dough--it is also useful throughout the entire cooking process. Continually coat your cooking surface, your utensils, your pasta maker, and pretty much everything else in sight, in flour. Doing so will help keep the dough from getting sticky and will allow it to be cranked through the machine without getting stuck or breaking.

Now, get cooking! Ciao! 

My go-to flour when I don't have semolina

Batch of homemade ravioli before being boiled