Our family loves pasta. Like we could eat it every night. We should have been born Italian (we have a lot of different nationalities in our blood but zero Italian!)
Last year, Daddy had a bumper crop of tomatoes. It was also his first year growing Roma and San Marzano tomatoes. He has always grown loads of tomatoes but usually just the beefsteaks…you know, the ones that are great for eating fresh but make a very runny sauce. Well I was finally able to get him to grow paste tomatoes this year he is planning on growing even more! Thankfully tomatoes freeze very well (see my previous post here). And frozen tomatoes make amazing Marinara Sauce!
I found the original recipe on Food Network. Our family loves this recipe so much that we have made it our family recipe for marinara sauce. We made a few changes like using fresh tomatoes and herbs when available and simmering it for up to 2 hours…the longer the richer the flavors. This recipe is perfect in any dish that calls for marinara sauce. The finished product also freezes beautifully! I wouldn’t can it though as I have read numerous articles about the dangers of bacteria in low acid tomato sauces.
Slow Simmer Roma Tomato Marinara
Printable Recipe
From the Family of: Jennifer
Yields: approximately 32 ounce jar
Cook Time: 2 hours (can be done in 30 minutes if in a rush)
Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
1 medium or 1/2 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups thawed, peeled and crushed Roma (or other meaty) tomatoes (or a 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes)
2 – 3 tsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dry)
1 T fresh, chopped basil
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
Instructions:
1. Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat until hot.
2. Add the minced garlic (I just put my cloves through a garlic press) and finely chopped onion and cook until translucent. You don’t want them to get brown and crispy, just fully cooked and a little caramelized.
3. Slowly add crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, bay leaf and sugar. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste. I usually start with about a 1/4 tsp of each and then taste my sauce after it has been cooking for a while. If you have extremely acidic tomatoes then you can add more sugar to cut down on the acidity.
4. Turn heat down to medium-low or even low and simmer for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. The longer you simmer the richer the sauce!
5. If you like a chunky tomato sauce then you can serve it or freeze it as is. I like a little bit smoother sauce so I used my Immersion Hand Blender
Helpful Hints:
If using garden fresh or frozen tomatoes, peel and then crush with your hands or a potato masher. You can then measure out the 4 cups of crushed tomatoes…juice and all.
This recipe easily doubles! I’ve even tripled it although it definitely needs the full 2 hours of cook time to properly simmer down.
Adapted from Food Network
With Love, Jennifer
This post contains affiliated links. I have actually purchased these products and would personally recommend them.
Posted with Blogsy