[rec]Quick Marinara Sauce

[mitchell]

½ cup olive oil
5 garlic cloves, pressed
1 medium onion, (approx. ½ cup) chopped
3 ½ cups canned tomatoes or 1 large can
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon sweet basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Blend the tomatoes in a blender or food processor until they are in a liquid form. In a large pot heat the oil, add the garlic and onion and sauté until onion is soft. Taking care not to burn the garlic. Slowly add all of the other ingredients and cook rapidly uncovered for about 15 minutes or until nice and thick. Stirring occasionally so it does not scorch the bottom of the pot. (Makes 1 quart of sauce.)

Note: If sauce becomes too thick add a ¼ cup of water to dilute it a bit.

 

[mitchell]

I like adding a bit of wine to this.

 

[mitchell]

You know it's funny I've never added wine to this, but I cook with more wine then you would believe in almost everything I cook.... Wonder why I've never added any to this??? Think I will next time. I don't do this one except for the when tomatoes are just starting to come in baby batches and too much for just salads, but not enough for canning a large amount. I always have home canned sauce for non-seasonal use and make huge batches for canning when the tomatoes are pouring in. So this recipe although really a good one is not often used in our house, but my Sister and Mom use it a lot. I'm gonna have to tell them to try adding a bit of wine and see what they say..... Thanks for the idea.

 

[mitchell]

I always add a little sugar to all my sauses......cuts acid in the "maters"

 

[mitchell]

The large carrot that you see in most of my sauces is for the same purpose as your sugar. It draws all the acids from the tomatoes into the carrot while cooking and adds a bit of natural sweetener to the sauce. I have found that the sugar sometimes makes it a bit too sweet for my taste, but the carrot seems to work just great. Advise not to eat it though when the sauce is cooked as it does become quite bitter.... I just take it out and pitch it or let the fool dog have it

 

[mitchell]

My mom always had a jug of burgundy for her meat-y, onion-y spaghetti sauce. Loved the savory taste when it cooked down.

A fresh marinari can have different sensibilities.