Homemade Marinara

Marinara Sauce

Makes about 4 cups

Make sure you plan to plant tomatoes in your summer garden. This is one of our favorite things to make when tomatoes are in season and in abundance. This recipe that cans and freezes incredibly well! It’s the perfect solution for when you’ve grown far too many tomatoes to eat and a great way to keep your summer bounty going well into the fall in winter.

• 2 (28-ounce cans) whole tomatoes with their juices OR 1 1/2 pounds of fresh tomatoes, peeled
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2-3 large sprigs basil
• 1 tablespoon red wine or red wine vinegar
• Parmesan rind
• Pinch of sugar (if needed)
• Additional salt (to taste)

1. Working in batches, in a food processor, pulse tomatoes until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with remaining tomatoes. Set coarsely chopped tomatoes aside.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onion, cook until it starts to turn golden and softened, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté another 30 seconds. Be careful, don’t let it burn! Stir in red chili flakes, let them heat for 15 seconds to release their flavor, then pour in the chopped tomatoes with their juices.
3. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Add salt, whole sprig of basil, Parmesan rind, and red wine and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce is full-flavored and has reduced to a thick, saucy consistency, 20-40 minutes.  Taste and add the pinch of sugar only if the sauce lacks the natural sweetness of perfectly ripe, fresh tomatoes.  Remove the stems of basil and Parmesan rind.
4. At this point you can leave it chunky or use an immersion blender and blend to the desired consistency.
5. Can your sauce and put cans aways for later in the season. (*Check out the SLICE video library for our video on pickling if you want to learn a few canning tips and tricks!) OR freeze the sauce in small portions: 1 cup (1-2 people), 2 cups (3-4 people) or 3 cups (4-6 people) servings, depending on the size of your family.  Once you thaw a portion, it will keep in your refrigerator 3-4 days.

By Diane Sheya