Marinara Sauce

I made an Italian dinner and the base of the dinner is the sauce.  Making your own Marinara Sauce really is easy.   You do not have to buy the store brand.  Just grab a few cans of tomatoes (fresh would be even better), some fresh herbs and a little garlic and you have a great foundation for a sauce.  Put it on pasta or on meatballs.

 

As I often do, I look up the origin of a recipe to learn more of its history.  I learned 2 things through wikipedia; one, Italians refer to tomato sauce as sugo or pomodoro; and two, the origin may be from Spain when tomatoes were brought to Italy.

Ingredients (adapted from Ina Garten):
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in purée, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can of stewed tomatoes
1 tbsp of fresh flat-leaf parsley, oregano, basil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large (12-inch) sauté pan.  Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.  Add the wine, raise heat to high and cook on high heat until almost all the liquid evaporates.

Scrape the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  It will take 3 or 4 minutes for the wine to evaporate.  Stir in the tomatoes and mix.  Break up the stewed tomatoes with a wooden spoon.  Next, add in the fresh herbs, salt, and pepper.

Cover, and simmer on the low heat for 15 minutes.  Serve and Enjoy!