This wonderful recipe is from a vintage cookbook published in 1967 by the owner of Leone’s in NYC, a restaurant that operated from 1906 until  the mid ’60s. It was the gold standard in NY-style Italian food. The cookbook is long out-of-print, but here’s a sauce that I love to make.

1 1/4 lb sweet Italian sausage (bulk or casings removed)
3 garlic cloves mashed
1/4 bunch of parsley
1/3 oz. dried mushrooms (Porcini works well)
1 cup warm water
2 tbs. olive oil
2 oz. salt pork, diced
2 tbs. sweet butter
1/2 lb. onion, peeled & diced
1 28 oz. can peeled plum tomatoes, sieved
2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 tbs. tomato paste
6 tbs. of heavy cream, warm not hot

Remove casing from sausage and cut meat into 1/2 in. pieces. Chop the garlic and parsley together. Soak the mushrooms in the warm water for about 10 minutes. Drain, saving the water, and chop the mushrooms.

Combine olive oil, salt pork and butter in a saucepan; heat. Add onions and cook slowly until golden brown. Add sausage and brown slowly. Add garlic and parsley, cover, and cook slowly for 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and mushroom water, sieved and chopped tomatoes, cover, and cook slowly for 40 minutes. Add tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes.

Just before serving add the cream to sauce and stir. Makes about 6 cups.