Recipe—Marinara Sauce

Who doesn’t love a big bowl of pasta smothered in a thick flavorful marinara sauce? It certainly is always a big hit in our household. I find jarred pasta sauces to be far too sweet for my liking. After trying this marinara recipe you will never again want a jar of Prego. I typically double the recipe and freeze it for future use. I’m sure canning it would be great also. This recipe makes a fantastic sauce to be used on homemade pizzas, over chicken parmigiana, paired up with your favorite pasta, or even as a dipping sauce.

Here’s a little history for you. Marinara sauce is the term for a simple tomato sauce cooked with herbs. It dates back to Italy as far back as 1550. The name loosely translates to “sailor-style” sauce in Italian. One theory for the name was because marinara could easily be prepared on ships. Due to the high acid content from the tomatoes, and the absence of meat, the sauce did not spoil easily, making it ideal for those at sea before refrigeration techniques existed. The other theory on the origins of the sauce is that the wives of sailors developed it. Marinara could be prepared quickly once the wives caught a glimpse of the ships offshore, making it possible to serve their husbands a hot meal as soon as they returned home, often serving it with the sailors fresh catch.

Note: For some extra veggies I occasionally add in some chopped mushrooms and green bell peppers when cooking the onion. If you would like to make a rich meat sauce brown 1 lb ground beef and 1 lb Italian sausage with your onion and garlic, and follow the rest of the recipe as usual. The meat sauce is killer in lasagna! (Lasagna recipe coming soon)

INGREDIENTS
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
2 (14 1/2 oz) cans diced tomatoes
3 (14 1/2 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes

STEPS

• Brown onions and garlic in olive oil.
• Add remaining ingredients.
• Bring to a boil.
• Add water until sauce reaches desired consistency. I typically add about a 1/2 cup. Feel free to add more water as it cooks.
• Keep in mind that it will thicken up quite a bit as it simmers.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour.

Mangia!