Tomato Sauce (Italian Marinara)
Marinara sauce is the classic. Tomatoes seasoned with onions, oregano, fresh basil and garlic simmering on your stove will send a pleasing smell wafting through your house. Traditional marinara contains chunks of tomatoes and is bright red or orange due to the olive oil and its shorter cooking time. This type of Italian gravy is popular on your favourite pizza, pasta, or meat dishes.
In Italy, alla marinara properly refers to a sauce made with tomatoes, basil, oregano and sometimes olives, capers and salted anchovies; it is used for spaghetti and vermicelli, but also with meat or fish. This is not to be confused with spaghetti marinara, a popular dish in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, in which a tomato-based sauce is mixed with fresh seafood. In Italy a pasta sauce including seafood is more commonly called alla pescatora. A sauce similar to Italian-American marinara sauce is known in some areas of Central Italy as sugo finto.
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 pinch red pepper flakes
3 lbs fresh plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
sea salt
4 fresh basil leaves, torn
Sauté the garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil about 5 minutes.
Remove and discard the garlic. Add the tomatoes and salt.
Cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, unitl the sauce is thickened.
Remove from the heat and stir in the basil and serve with your favourite pasta.
Makes enough for 1 lb of pasta.
Cook's Note:
Make-Ahead: This sauce can be made ahead and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Canned Whole Tomato Equivalents:
- One 28 oz can: Replaces about 2 lbs of fresh tomatoes or 10-12 whole tomatoes.
- One 14.5 oz can: Replaces about 1 lb of fresh tomatoes or 5-6 whole tomatoes.
- Calculation for 3 lbs: Since 3 lbs is 1.5 times the amount of a 28 oz can, you would need to combine the equivalent of a 28 oz can (2 lbs) with another 14.5 oz can (1 lb) to replace 3 lbs of fresh tomatoes.