Family, friends, and big bowls of sauce is an average Sunday for an Italian family. Families and friends come together for an early dinner that usually consists of various pasta dishes with plenty of sauce for all.
The Italian Sunday dinner is also known as “La cena della Domenica.” During rural Italy, when the agrarian lifestyle was popular amongst many people, farmers and their families used Sunday as a day to relax and enjoy freshly home cooked meals. The meals were cooked with ingredients that were harvested from their own farm.
Sunday dinner was important to Catholic families, as it was a way of showing appreciation and gratitude to the Lord. Sundays were usually seen as a day of rest and worship, and in sharing a meal, familial bonds and unification are emphasized.
This tradition was brought to America from Italian immigrants between the 19th and 20th century. Italian families continued to have Sunday dinner in remembrance of their culture. Over time, it became known as “Sunday Gravy,” a name that has come to symbolize Italian-American culture and heritage.
To this day, the tradition continues in some households. Joseph Corallo, a senior at Washingtonville High School, has Sunday Gravy with his family once a week. He shared his experience of Sunday dinners with his family: “It is pretty special because at least once a week, my family and I completely come together and socialize. We’ve done it my whole life.”
From someone who prepares the meal, Roco Arleo explained his thoughts on cooking for his family. “Over the past couple of years, I began hosting Sunday dinner. Cooking sauce for my family and preparing a meal is important to me. Even though it can be time consuming, seeing my family together is all that matters.”
The process of creating a Sunday dinner varies from family to family, but the heart of the tradition remains the same. Here is my family's homemade sauce recipe:
Recipe:
1 Stalk of Celery
1 Carrot
1 Onion
3 Cans of peeled whole tomatoes
Salt and 2 Bouillon Cubes
Olive oil
Instructions:
Chop up celery, carrots and onions.
Place 3 cans of whole tomatoes, celery, onion, and carrots into a large pot.
Place the pot on the stove and turn the stove on medium to high heat until it boils.
Add salt and bouillons and lower heat to a simmer with lid cracked open
Let sauce simmer for 2 hours while stirring every 20 minutes
Remove the pot from the heat and ladle all ingredients from pot into a mill (this removes skin, seeds, and fibrous materials
In a separate pot, add olive oil and garlic.
Heat until garlic is soft
Add the sauce to the garlic and oil(let simmer for 20 minutes)
Basil leaves and more salt are optional
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