Marinara Sauce

A marinara sauce is a simple tomato based sauce that has many uses.
At its base, a marinara sauce is tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. My favorite marinara sauce also includes a nice selection of vegetables including onions, carrots and celery. Using the recipe as follows will provide you with a nice chunky sauce but sometimes I want a smoother sauce and it is easy enough to puree it a bit in a food processor to get the consistency that I want. This is a sauce that I like to play around with and I try out different things each time that I make it. Some things that I have found that work really well are adding a splash of balsamic vinegar or a cup of wine. Simmering the sauce with the rind from parmigiano reggiano also adds a ton of flavour so I always freeze the rinds for use in sauces later on. During the late summer when tomatoes are at their peak I will use either fresh tomatoes or better yet, oven roasted tomatoes for even more flavour. Because marinara sauce is so useful in other recipes I often like to double this recipe and freeze the extras for later. 

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 stalk celery (chopped)
• 1 carrot (peeled and chopped)
• 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon oregano (optional)
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup red wine (optional)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
• 1 parmigiano reggiano rind (optional)
• 1 tablespoon basil (chopped, optional)
• 1 tablespoon parsley (chopped, optional)

directions

1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add celery, carrots, salt and pepper and saute until the vegetables are soft (about 10 minutes).
5. Add the tomatoes, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper, wine, balsamic vinegar and parmigiano reggiano rind and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens (about 30-60 minutes).
6. Stir in the basil and parsley and turn off the heat.

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