THE GRAVY DEBATE
Call it what you wish, but do it right!
Flavors and Knowledge
Apr 14
{Image Attribution via Buonissimo}
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Buongiorno amici:
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In the first chapter of her excellent and enjoyable book “Gravy Wars,” Lorraine Ranalli states that gravy is “unique” to South Philly Italians. By “gravy,” she means what most people call “sauce” — that tomato-y stuff that goes on pasta.
I met Lorraine a few years ago when she was at a reading with Lisa Cappuccio. I told her that up here in New England, we — at least some of us – called it gravy too. She was surprised – just as I was surprised that she thought Italian Americans only used the word gravy in South Philly.
After that, I looked into it a bit. I started asking around. Most everyone I knew called it gravy, which explicitly meant the meat sauce they had on their pasta (“macaroni”) growing up. However, most people I spoke to did know of a “marinara sauce.”
That was a quick sauce with no meat. But some people called that gravy, too. As I continued to ask, I found that a lot of Italians who came to the United States after the First World War did not call it gravy but sauce (salsa, ragù, sugo).
That made me think it was strictly an Italian-American term. But then I found some post-WWII immigrants who said gravy and some Italian Americans who only said sauce. So I don’t know what to think now. One thing seems inevitable.
They don’t have or use the term “gravy” in Italian. If they say salsa, ragu, or sugo, they mean “sauce,” meat, or no meat. In America, gravy refers to the sauce or dressing used for meat or fish. So it could be that the early Italian immigrants, cooking meat in their tomatoes, and when in America doing as the Americans did, did the right thing and called it “gravy.”
Perhaps this is not a world-shattering matter, but if you look up “gravy or sauce” on the internet, you will find a lot of discussion about this. People are talking about it, not just in South Philly, the Boston North End, or Federal Hill in Providence but across the nation!
So what is it: sauce or gravy? Here is my answer:
What is sauce for the goose is gravy for the gander.
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Sauce, sugo, or gravy recipe
Ingredients for 1-1/2 cups
Four tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
Two garlic cloves
One pinch peperoncino
1 (16-ounce) can of whole, peeled Italian tomatoes, crushed by hand
3-4 sprigs of basil
Salt, to taste
Directions
Place a saucepan on the stove, and heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat.
Using the heel of your hand, crush two garlic cloves and add them to the olive oil, cooking them until golden brown.
Once the garlic is brown, add the peperoncino and the crushed tomatoes to the saucepan.
Mix the tomatoes, and season them with salt, to taste.
Simmer the sauce over low heat for approximately 20 minutes so that it begins to thicken.
Please turn off the heat, and add the basil sprigs while the sauce is cooling, remembering to remove them once it has cooled completely.
The tomato sauce should be a rich red color.
If it is brick red, it is too thick and needs to be thinned with water.
Incorporate the sauce into your favorite dish, and enjoy!
Note: Federal Hill Foods – Chef Walters Fine Foods. https://chefwaltersfinefoods.com/federal-hill-foods
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