Angela's Super Easy Marinara
This is a stripped down version of my original marinara sauce. It is surprisingly close to Alex Guarnaschelli's recipe! Just a few ingredients and some time is all you need. I leave in the seeds and tomato pulp since I give it a little whiz with the stick blender. I like the texture. It is vegetarian; leave out the butter and it is vegan.
Servings 6 cups
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, about 1/3 cup, grated
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 small carrot, microplaned, about 1/4 cup use a box grater's fine side if you don't have a microplane
- 1 tsp dry basil I like it lurking in the background
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp salt To taste
- 1 28oz San Marzano tomatoes, whole, canned DO try to find San Marzanos, whole gives a better texture to the sauce
- 1 14oz crushed tomatoes, canned You can use 100% SM if you like.
- 1-2 tsp sugar, to taste, to adjust the acidity
- 1 Tbl butter this helps with acidity and mouthfeel
- 2 Tbl fresh basil, whole leaves or roughly chopped Optional, but adds some freshness and is traditional. I skip most of the time.
Instructions
- In a large 3-4 qt pot over med low heat, add oil, onions, garlic, carrots, basil and s/p. You want the oil to just barely bubble the onions, not brown them. Low and slow.
- Let this base cook for about 10 minutes on low, stirring occasionally.
- Add in the crushed and whole tomatoes, crushing the whole tomatoes by hand.
- Bring this up to just a minimal bubble. Low and slow. Let it go, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes.
- When the sauce has reduced for the 40 minutes, check it for salt. If the acidity is high (and it likely will be), add sugar until you are happy with the acid level. Make sure the salt is adequate. Add in the butter (if using) at the end. This is a base sauce, so all you want is just a well balanced sauce bursting with tomato flavour.
- This sauce freezes very well. It can be used anywhere red sauce is called for.
Notes
This is a base sauce, so there are not many ingredients, nor are there any strong herbs.
If you want a more involved sauce, search for Angela's Marinara.