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Marinara Sauce
This post continues the roll of Italian recipes I have been posting this week. All of these recipes were created for a really good friend of my wife and mine. We were actually hosting a retirement party. 50 years old and retiring. A lot of living left to do. Her favorite meal was her birthday meal her mom would make – spaghetti and meatballs. So the true compliment to my Italian Meatballs would be the sauce, or gravy if you prefer. I decided to make a marinara sauce and not a meat sauce.
Marinara Sauce
The key to me for this marinara sauce was to make it substantive. That meant that my aim was to make this sauce chunky. To accomplish this goal I needed to use real tomatoes. I also supplemented the roma tomatoes with crushed tomatoes. This really gave some texture to the sauce. The sauce was simmered to enable all the flavors to come out. The sauce has fresh herbs, plenty of spices and a little sugar to balance the acidity of all the tomatoes.
The sauce follows the traditional methods that your Nona, Italian grandmother, would use for making of a marinara sauce. The sauce begins with sautéing onions in olive oil. Then, various Italian seasonings are added as long as fresh oregano and garlic. The beauty of a marinara sauce is that the flavors are layered in and developed through a slow simmering process. A good marinara sauce needs to stand up on its own. This marinara recipe does just that.
The cast of characters.
Ingredients
The onions and spices added to the Dutch oven and followed with the tomatoes and fresh herbs.
Spices & Onions
Tomatoes & Herbs Added
The final marinara sauce plated.
Marinara Sauce Plated
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 9 roma tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Add the oil and onion to a Dutch oven and heat on medium heat for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent.
- Add the spices a few minutes into the cooking.
- Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes and the fresh herbs and increase heat to high-medium to bring to a low boil.
- When the mixture boils, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes, uncovered, until most of the liquid from the tomatoes cooks off stirring often.
- Continue cooking until thickened to your liking and then remove from heat.
- Cook the sauce covered for 30 - 60 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Homemade is the best! Well done!
Agreed and it is not hard. You just need a little time.
Everyone needs a good marina sauce , and this is a great place to start .It looks delicious . Thanks for sharing!!
It is one of those basic recipes that we all need to have in our repertoire.
I LOVE Marinara Sauce!!! One of my favorites!!!! Love this recipe!
Nothing beats homemade marinara sauce. It’s just so much heartier and ‘chunkier’. I haven’t bought store bought sauce for years now. Love it!!!
You have it right!
Peter I love how fresh and simple your marinara is! You can never go wrong with that–and this sauce is an absolute classic no one should miss!! Fabulous step by step photos too! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Your words are very kind. Thx Mahy.
i love marinara sauce. It’s fresh and easy, can be served alone as sauce on pasta, or along side an amazing appetizer.
Katie, you are right. This marinara sauce has lots of different uses.
This Marinara sauce looks delicious!! I love making a big batch of marinara and freezing it for later. Pinning!
That is a good idea. I need to make a bigger pot next time. Thx for sharing too!
What a great friend you are! I love from-scratch sauces. This one looks really fantastic. Nothing beats a really good marinara sauce!
You are so sweet. Nothing better than homemade so as long as you have the time, go for it.
Simple and fantastic, love this dish!
Thx so much Tara.
Nothing beats a great homemade pasta sauce, and this looks delicious. I would be happy to celebrate with this too!!
You are welcome too any time!
Looks so thick and rich – love the depth of flavor that is developed over time. Only way to make GREAT sauce. Beautiful pictures too!
You have that totally right Debra.
This Marinara looks delicious! I agree, the key to a good marinara is to make the sauce chunky!
It needs some consistency to feel substantial.