Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Homemade Marinara

I have mentioned before Paulie's strange obsession with GIANT cans of veggies, there was a 6 lb can of San Marzano tomatoes that he probably got for a steal at Restaurant Depot that has been moved from one shelf to another in out pantry, that is until today.  I finally busted into that behemoth and made homemade Marinara sauce.  The following are all the ingredients:
  • 6 lb of San Marzano tomatoes (whole and peeled)
  • 2 - 6 oz cans of tomato paste, try using sugar free to control the sweetness
  • 1-2 large onions, chopped
  • 1-2 heads of garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
  • 1 tbsp Oregano
  • 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 tbsp dry parsley flakes (I used dry parsley from my garden)
  • 1/2 cup chopped basil (I used frozen cubes of basil from our summer garden) 
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • Salt and Black Pepper to taste
  • 1-2 tbsp sugar, to taste (optional, helps to cut down on the acidity of tomatoes)
Stovetop Method:
In a heavy bottom Dutch oven, I used an 8 quart Le Creuset pot, add olive oil, onions and garlic, saute till translucent but not brown.  If you are using whole tomatoes, place them in a bowl and squish them into pieces or if you prefer not to get messy use them whole and pulse them in the pan with an immersion blender as I did. With burner set to low heat (2-3 on US electric stoves) add remaining ingredients.  Mix till the tomato paste is incorporated. Keep checking and mixing periodically, 15-20 minutes, to prevent scorching on the bottom. Simmer on low for 2.5-3 hours or until the desired thickness.  Cool and transfer to glass containers to use in the next 2 weeks if stored in the fridge or can for shelf stable storage.  You can also freeze but in plastic rather than glass to prevent cracking of the container.  Do not overfill if freezing as it will expand.

Oven Method:
Follow all the steps above until the mixture reaches a simmer on the stovetop then place it in a 300° F oven for 1.5-2 hours, checking every 45 minutes or so.  To further cut down on the possibility of scorching, place the dutch oven on a cookie sheet.

Slow Cooker/Crock Pot Method:
Saute onions and garlic, transfer to the crock pot, add remaining ingredients and set to 6-8 hours.
All the ingredients in the pot before being mixed or blended
Cooked for 10 minutes and blended, still remaining rather chinky
3 hours later on low, the sauce has visibly intensified in color, flavor and diminished in volume by about 10%
This, flavorful and best homemade without preservatives and ready to use in our favorite meals (pizza, spaghetti, lasagna... the possibilities are endless).

2 comments:

  1. Hi Natasha, You want to really get a fabulous tomato based sauce....add Whte Wine or White cooking wine into your sauce. It really makes the sauce taste sooo good. You don't taste the wine since it cooks into the sauce. I also use the ingredients you listed, as well as diced tomatos. Hugs Lori

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  2. Natasha- This looks so delicious. I'm def going to try this out! Question, I'll probably use canned San Marzano whole tomatoes to save me some time though.
    Kristen

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