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Angela’s Marinara Sauce

Y’all! I made marinara a few weeks ago and just did the bare minimum. It was DELICIOUS! Turns out, my stripped down version is very similar to Alex Guarnaschelli’s recipe! That new, easier than ever recipe is over here.

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Angela's Marinara Sauce

This is a spin off of Ina Garten and a Food Network recipe. It ended up being very different from both and very rich. This sauce will freeze well.
Course Sauce
Cuisine Italian
Keyword marinara, marinara sauce
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 8 6 oz servings
Author misangela

Ingredients

  • 1 28oz can San Marzano crushed roma tomatoes you can sub whole tomatoes here and crush by hand
  • 1 14oz can Fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic any type is fine
  • 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil use something good
  • 1 small white onion, small dice (about 3/4 cup) any kind of onion is fine
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, minced finely
  • 1/2 tsp dry basil yes, DRY, not fresh
  • 1 tsp salt I use Dixie Crystal Kosher in all my recipes
  • 2 Tbl white sugar more or less depending on how acidic your tomatoes are
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 3/4 cup red wine dry, not sweet
  • 1 Tbl tomato paste from tube or 2 Tbl from a can
  • 1/2 tsp anchovy paste optional for vegans, but use it if you can
  • 5-10 whole basil leaves optional
  • 1 Tbl balsamic vinegar a sweet one if you have it
  • 2 Tbl butter optional but adds a nice finish

Instructions

  • Do your Mise en Place first: gather all the ingredients. This will take a large pot with a lid.
  • Dice up the onion and mince the garlic.
  • Put the stock pot over medium heat and add EVOO. Add onion and garlic. Sweat these, do not brown. (Turn down heat if necessary.) Add anchovy paste if using.
  • Add all the tomatoes.
  • Add basil, salt, sugar, pepper and red wine.
  • Stir thoroughly and bring to a very slow simmer. Add tomato paste. Cook over very low heat at a very low simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally.
  • The sauce should reduce by about 10-15%. When you are happy with the consistency, take off the heat and add the fresh basil leaves. Add balsamic and butter if using.
  • Finally, check the seasoning. It will likely need more salt and perhaps more sugar if it's still acidic.
  • Serve over your favourite pasta or over my gnudi (next recipe).

Notes

I highly recommend using anchovy paste here. It gives a certain umami that is very nice. 
This sauce will freeze nicely. 
I served this over my gnudi, which is the next recipe in line or you can search for it.  It is also good as a pizza sauce!