The guys from 'Goodfellas' prepare this dish in their prison cell. Here's the recipe to follow so you can make it in your own kitchen, no holds barred!
Sunday Gravy, meat cooked in tomato sauce, is a classic of Italian-American cuisine. Perhaps the most famous version is prepared right at the beginning of the film 'Goodfellas': Vinnie, Paulie and Johnny are in prison, but they don't seem to be doing too badly: in their spacious cell they prepare a feast. Pauli cuts garlic with a razor "so thin that it dissolves in the oil", Vinnie is responsible for the sauce ("Three small onions, two large cans of tomatoes, definitely pork for flavour.") and Johnny roasts a mighty steak. In between, a crate of lobster on ice is delivered to the boys' cell as a matter of course.
In the film it remains unknown whether the sliced garlic is meant for the Gravy or another sauce. Real Neapolitans never mix garlic and onion in a sauce – it's a strict either-or – but we just assume that different cooking laws apply in American prisons.
| Ingredients (6 servings) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6 | onions, chopped | |
| 10 | handful | garlic, finely sliced |
| 300 | g | veal, such as osso bucco, cut into large chunks |
| 300 | g | marinated beef, such as shin or brisket, cut into large cubes |
| 300 | g | pork shoulder, cut into large cubes |
| 3 | tablespoon(s) | lard or olive oil, plus extra as needed |
| 100 | ml | white wine |
| 250 | ml | chicken or beef stock |
| 4 | large ripe tomatoes | |
| 4 | bay leaves | |
| salt | ||
| pepper | ||
