Classic Marinara Sauce
- Recipe by Grace Parisi
The secret to excellent tomato sauce? According to F&W’s Grace Parisi, the trick is starting with superlative whole (not crushed) tomatoes and simmering them with whole (not chopped) garlic cloves. The result: A classic marinara that can quickly be spun into all sorts of variations.
- ACTIVE: 10 MIN
- TOTAL TIME: 40 MIN
- SERVINGS: 3 cups (enough for 1 pound of pasta)
- Fast
- Healthy
- Make-Ahead
- Vegetarian
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- One 35-ounce can whole peeled Italian tomatoes with their juices, crushed by hand
- Pinch of sugar
- 2 basil sprigs
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
- In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the canned tomatoes with their juices. Stir in the sugar and basil, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer the sauce over low heat, stirring occasionally, until it thickens and is reduced to 3 cups, about 30 minutes. Season again with salt and pepper. Discard the basil sprigs and garlic.
Make Ahead
-
The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Cooking Guides
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Reviews
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User Reviews

(Average Rating)
I have to agree with mlauff - you have to add wine. No mushrooms, though - makes the sauce to "woody" tasting. Keep it fresh.
Posted by: stobk on April 9, 2008
I agree with Roberto about adding wine. Not sure about the mushrooms, though. It's "Classic Marinara"—keep it simple!
Posted by: cheesefriend on March 26, 2008
To make it 5 star you need to add 1/2 cup of home made Italian wine or chianti. A medium chopped onion, lose the tomato paste and sugar. Add sliced mushrooms if you like and chop the garlic fine. Saute the garlic, onion in the olive oil add TBS fresh chopped basil, TBS fresh chopped italian parsley and 1/4 tsp fresh chopped oregano, and mushrooms. When the fragrance hits, add wine for a minute and finally the tomatoes. Stir, cover and reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for 45 minutes to and hour. Awesome.
Posted by: RobertoM on March 26, 2008
Read all 4 reviews
- From The Perfect Tomato Sauce
- Published September 2007
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