The Sunday Recipe: Simple Marinara Sauce

September 27, 2020 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
Tags: fresh tomatoes, marinara, preserving, Tomato sauce

My husband had a bumper crop of Roma tomatoes in his garden this year so my daughter and I ended up doing three batches of marinara sauce over three days for the freezer, refining our skills as we went. Here is where we ended up.

I based the seasoning on the simple sauce I make from canned unsalted tomato sauce.  I just stir together 1 eight ounce can of unsalted tomato sauce, 1 teaspoon of basil, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, ½ teaspoon of oregano, ½ teaspoon of garlic powder, and a pinch of sugar. I use that for pizza, spaghetti squash, zucchini, and eggplant recipes.

Now we have a small supply of sauce from home grown tomatoes.

Simple Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

• 9 to 10 pounds tomatoes (preferably roma)
• 1 head of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup of water
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup dried basil
• 2 Tablespoons dried oregano
• If not using head of garlic, 2 tablespoons of garlic powder (NOT salt)
• 4 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions

1. Clean and quarter the tomatoes to make sure there are no bad spots inside.
2. Combine tomatoes, crushed garlic, chopped onion, and water in a large stock pot.
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Stir and reduce to a simmer.
5. Leave lid on and stir every fifteen minutes for the first hour.
6. Tip the lid so steam escapes and continue to simmer for about 3 hours.
7. Run the cooked tomato mixture through a food mill with a fairly large whole strainer. You’ll get some seeds but not too many. Can also be pressed through a colander but the food mill is much easier.
8. Place the tomato sauce in a pot and bring to a simmer.
9. Cook until desired consistency, about an hour.
10. Add seasonings and simmer another 15 minutes.
11. Allow to cool.
12. Package and freeze until needed.

Makes approximately 12 cups of sauce.