I have always wanted to try to make marinara sauce from scratch. I don't know if it's the Italian in me or my super pickyness when it comes to marinara sauce - but this is a sauce I feel like I should master. During my lunch break I bought some fresh tomatoes, onions, and what I thought was garlic....
Has the shape of garlic and the store labeling of garlic...
But not garlic at all...
I swear it's staring at me saying (in a squeaky British accent for some reason..) "Ohhh nooo I'm an onion, not garlic silly.."
Sigh.. I told you all I was not a master chef...
After being humbled by my garlic failure, I returned to my marinara mission. I had some dried minced garlic and garlic powder that would just have to do. I prefer marinara sauces that taste light, slightly spicy, and aren't chunky.
Recipe:
5 tomatoes deseeded and chopped
1/2 yellow onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
10 basil leaves chopped
1/4 cup white wine
4 tbs olive oil
1tbs dried oregano
1 tbs salt
1/2 tbs pepper
1/2 tbs cayenne pepper powder
1/2 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs dried parsley
Heat oil in a pot over medium heat until hot. Reduce heat to medium low. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent and soft (about 7-10 minutes). Add wine to deglaze bottom of pot. Add tomatoes and basil. Let simmer for a few minutes. Take a hand blender and blend until no big chunks can be seen. Make sure to wear long sleeves and an apron since this can get messy. (There will be less of a splash if you keep the hand blender submerged the whole time.) Add remaining ingredients and stir. Add more or less of the spices depending on your taste. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Makes about 4-6 servings.
While I really like how the sauce turned out, I'm going to tweak this recipe slightly. (i.e. remove tomato skins, add tomato paste, and try roasting the garlic and tomatoes). Hopefully I can do this in the next week or so and update the recipe :)
