I've looked through all the cookbooks I have (a paltry 13. I never know which ones to buy when confronted with the decision!) and consulted the mighty internet, but I cannot come up with a consistent definition of marinara.
The general consensus defines marinara as a tomato sauce containing a hearty amount of vegetables, whether they be onions or bell peppers, carrots or celery, I find no specifics. Marinara must also have herbs, mostly basil. Tomato sauce on the other hand, lacks any additional veggies or herbs. Just some salt and pepper.
So, today I want to show you how easy making Red Sauce (eh, you like that?) is. I made an incredibly delicious Red Sauce with things I already had in my pantry. And so can you!
I make a habit of buying canned tomatoes every time I'm at the grocery store. The more I cook, the more I notice how often canned tomatoes come in handy. For my Red Sauce I used a giant can of crushed tomatoes, but you can use any you have, as long as they have some sort of juice or puree in them.
Other things I noticed in my kitchen worthy of belonging in this sauce: a white onion, dried porcini mushrooms, bacon, garlic, red pepper flakes and rosemary.
I took the porcini mushrooms, put them in one cup of hot hot water to reconstitute them. The first time I ever had to reconstitute mushrooms, I was told to leave them in the water until the felt soft. No time frame. I left them in the water for five minutes. They were not reconstituted. The mushroom tartlets I made turned out hard and chewy. Let the mushrooms steep for up to 30 minutes. Even then, check the tenderness, remove any tough stems.
Next, I heated up a splash of olive oil in my large casserole over medium-high heat. Once the oil began to bubble, I dropped in the four strips of bacon I'd chopped into little bits.
I cooked the bacon until it began to crisp and brown, stirring diligently to prevent burning. When the bacon turned golden, I added the onions and rosemary.
I sauteed the onions until they turned translucent. When their edges began to turn golden, I dropped in a handful of garlic. Garlic is incredibly sensitive to heat and will burn faster than you realize. Keep garlic to the outside of your veggies, so it comes in minimal contact with the burner heat. After about thirty seconds, I added a dash of red pepper flakes.
I added one 35 oz can of crushed tomatoes, the reconstituted porcini mushrooms and the mushroom broth (juice?).
I then stirred and simmered until the sauce thickened (about 35 minutes).
And now I have a whole bunch of delicious Red Sauce in my refrigerator! Actually, I have one container in my refrigerator, expressly for the lasagna I plan on showing you how to make later. The rest I froze. It thaws in no time and is delicious on pizza, pasta, some vegetables, anything! See how easy that was? Add more, add less. You can make homemade red sauce in barely any time at all. And if you want to make pasta, you can just boil the pasta straight in the sauce, for an extra rich and delicious noodle.
Happy eating!
Kit and Kat,
Trixi
