What is a Casalinga sauce?

Question

What is a Casalinga sauce?

Answer 1

Casalinga is the Italian for housewife.  If you see Cucina Casalinga on the menu of a trattoria or osteria,you can almost be sure that they serve good plain food, and that the landlady is in the kitchen.

Italian Meatballs (Polpette Alla Casalinga)

2 slices Italian bread, torn into small pieces

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

2 cloves finely chopped garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg lightly beaten

1 pound beef chuck, ground twice

4 tablespoons freshly grated Romano cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4  teaspoon garlic salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons oregano

Soak the pieces of bread in milk for 5 minutes, then squeeze dry.   Toss out milk.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the soaked bread with all remaining ingredients.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well blended.  With slightly wet hands, shape the mixture into small meatballs about 1/1/2 inches in diameter.As you work, lay the meatballs in one layer on a flat tray or baking sheet.  When finished, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour to firm the meatballs.  

Heat 1/4 cup of olive or vegetable oil in a heated, heavy 10-12 inch skillet until hot but not smoking. Working in batches, fry meatballs 5 or 6 at a time over a moderately high heat, shaking the pan constantly to roll the balls and keep them round. In 8 - 10 minutes, the meatballs should be brown outside and show no trace of pink inside. Add more oil to the skillet as needed.

Serve the meatballs hot with tomato sauce.

Ragu Napoletano - Authentic Italian Ragu from Naples

A wonderful, authentic Italian ragu from Naples.  

1 onion, finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, cut in half

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 ounce lard, chopped

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

8 ounces whole top round

1 pound pork short ribs

3 1/2 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1/3 cup basil leaves, loosely packed

salt and pepper to taste

    

Method

Beautiful Napoli has its own variation of ragu.

In a skillet, sauté onion in oil and lard for five minutes. Stir in garlic, carrot and celery. sauté until onion is softened, but do not allow to turn color.  

Put in the meats and brown on all sides.  If there is too much fat, pour a little off.

Stir in tomatoes, basil, and season with salt and pepper. Stir well and cook over very low heat with the pot covered for about 3-4 hours.  Test for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Remove meats to a large bowl, to be served separately or to be reserved for future use.

Cook pasta according to package directions and top with this beautiful ragu.

You might add a piece of pork skin to this if you have it. It gives deep flavor to the ragu.  Some like the skin, other not.  As with all Italian cooking, it is according to your taste



hope these help.           good luck and enjoy.

Answer 2

Il sugo alla casalinga.It's a home-made sauce.

It can be Satay sauce and curry sauce.

Answer 3

"alla casalinga" refers to a traditional home style rustic tomato sauce, but there are lots of variations

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art3...

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

5 garlic cloves, sliced very thin

2 lbs. fresh, ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced (or use 3 cups of canned, whole tomatoes, with their juice, coarsely chopped)

salt

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn by hand into small pieces (about 1/2")

pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions:

Put all but 1 TB of olive oil and all the garlic in a large skillet over a medium-high heat and cook until the garlic begins to sizzle, but doesn't brown.

Add the tomoatoes and cook over a medium-high heat until the tomatoes have reduced and spearated from the oil. This will be about 15 minutes depending upon your skillet size. Season with salt.

While the sauce is cooking bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, add 1 tbs of salt, and drop in the pasta all at once, stirring until the pasta is submerged. If you have a smaller pot, you can use less than 4 quarts of water, but you must constantly stir the pasta for one minute.

When the sauce has reduced, add the torn basil leaves and the red pepper flakes. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat.

When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain and toss with the sauce in the skillet, adding the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Serve at once with fresh grated parmesan cheese.