Basic Marinara Sauce / Marinara Sauce / Italian Marinara Sauce

For making a quick pasta, we use the store bought Marianara Sauce of various combinations generally. But I noticed that the  marianara sauce served at Italian restaurants would be so rich in texture and tastes much better than the store bought ones. I tried to venture out the possibility of making marinara sauce at home by following a very good marinara recipe. I followed Giada's Marinara Sauce recipe almost with few additions from my side to suit our taste. Trust me, the regular pasta plate looked so different in texture and looked delicious. Ah, why not execute this with some real shredded picorino romano cheese? Adding a feather to the crown, this paste sauce topped with the Italian cheese melts in your mouth. Above all, I like the sauce so much and try making the sauce with vine tomatoes. I added few toasted baby bella brown mushrooms in my marinara sauce. You can store it in refrigerator for 4-5 days and consume. As I don't add more oil, I prefer to exhaust them quickly. 

Ingredients

 

2 Cans Tomato Puree - 32 Oz

Carrots - 2 peeled and shredded

Celery Stalks - 2 finely chopped

Garlic cloves - 2 finely chopped

Salt - As Required

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1/4 cup

Bay Leaves - 2

Yellow Onions - 2 finely chopped

Black Pepper Powder - 2 tsp ( We wanted little punch, so added more but you adjust )

Dried Oregano - 1 tsp

Dried Thyme - 1 tsp

Dried Basil Leaves - 2 tsp

Method

• 

  Ziti Pasta coated with homemade marinara sauce 

  In a thick bottomed pan, add oil first followed by shredded garlic and onion pieces.
• Sprinkle little water and fry them for 5 minutes till the onion get translucent.
• Add the shredded carrot, celery into the pan and saute them for another 3-4 minutes.
• Add the tomato puree with all the spices except salt into the pan and allow them to cook on low flame with the lid open for nearly 30-45 minutes till the quantity reduces and get into a thick sauce consistency.
• Add salt at the end and allow them stand on the stove for 2-3 minutes.
• Let the sauce cool completely and store them in the refrigerator for later use.
• Enjoy some fresh sauce with cooked pasta with a side of pickled olives, toasted rosemary bread and fresh arugula salad.

Tips

• I used dried spices while making the sauce as the dried herbs hold the flavor for longer time when cooked on low flame. If you prefer to use the fresh herbs, try to add them at the end to hold the fresh flavours in the sauce.
• I prefer to puree the tomato before making the sauce which gives an unique taste and texture.
• Caramelize the onions perfectly before putting the carrots and celery into the pan.