Marinara Sauce

Learn from me, readers.  DO NOT watch FOOD NETWORK after 10pm!  Last night there was a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives marathon on, and I was only about 20 minutes into it when I could no longer resist the call of the kitchen.  Unfortunately, raw materials were limited, so instead of replicating the corned beef and cabbage, baked mac and cheese, polenta, and stuffed meatballs Guy Fieri was lucky enough to inhale, I was stuck sucking down three slices of garlic bread and a handful of peanut butter chips.  Not quite up to my usual standards, and also slightly embarrassing, and yet still most satisfying.

Changing topics now.  Marinara sauce is something you can always put to good use.  You can top pasta, slather up a grilled vegetable sandwich, or just drop in some meatballs and Italian sausages, heat up, and eat straight from the pot.  As you can see from the above, I used it for sandwiches (sausage, cheese, bell pepper and onion) and got the big thumbs up from MG.  Wrap these babies in foil and cook at 400 F for about thirty minutes.  Good hot, good cold the next day, good at 4 am in the morning when your building’s fire alarm goes off and you want to nosh on something while standing in your slippers on the street.

Marinara Sauce

• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup finely diced onion
• 1/2 cup white wine

In a food processor place Italian tomatoes, tomato paste, chopped parsley, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.

In a large skillet over medium heat saute the finely chopped onion in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add the blended tomato sauce and white wine.

Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Tags: garlic, marinara, pasta, sauce