Winter Marinara
by Chris
When I visit the house where I was raised, the smell of simmering tomatoes often greets me before my family does. There it hangs, thinly as I twist the doorknob, and thickly in the yellow hallway, an assault on the senses. If you focus you can see it, the smell. It’s the same smell that, when I was a teenager, would awake me in the late morning, though my room was a floor above the kitchen and on the house’s far side.
Aromatics, tomatoes, and a long simmer give the sauce its strong smell. If you dissect the inner framework of a wall or the sandy shingles of that house, you will find, I am sure, the residue of garlic and plum tomatoes. If you live in an apartment, as I do, expect your neighbors to glance at you in the hallway with the dim hope of a dinner invite.
I use canned tomatoes for a winter marinara. We can shape the sauce’s character by tinkering with these tomatoes. For a chunky and rustic sauce, pour the plum tomatoes and their juices into the blender and pulse 5 or 6 times. For a silky smooth sauce, run the blender for 30 seconds. Also, I add no herbs. We can add other flavors later depending on what we’re cooking.
Four quarts of sauce result from the long simmer. I recommend trying the recipe on a Sunday, for the leftover sauce will give you nice momentum into the week. On Sunday night, I’ll toss the stuff with pasta and flash-fried calamari and have a main course. You can remix the leftover sauce into eggplant parm, pizza, bean and zucchini dishes, the beginnings of a tomato-based soup, or whatever you want.
Makes 1 Quart
¼ cup olive oil
3 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-oz. can tomato purée
1 28-oz. can whole plum tomatoes and their juices, pulsed 5 or 6 times
1) Put olive oil and onions in a large, non-reactive pot over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, cook for 10-12 minutes, until onions are translucent.
2) Add garlic. Stirring often, and being mindful not to burn the garlic, for the fragments will fast turn brown and bitter, cook the garlic for some 90 seconds, until pieces are golden.
3) Add tomato purée. Add the pulsed plum tomatoes from the blender. Stir. When the sauce starts to simmer, switch the heat to medium-low. Let slowly simmer for three to four hours, stirring at 10-15 minute intervals, and dipping in bread when you wish.
This recipe looks great! It reminds me of my family’s recipe for Moroccan cooked tomato salad 🙂
Thanks for visiting my blog!
That looks like a wonderful, sturdy sauce to get you through winter.
I will be trying this over my 3 day weekend. Thanks for sharing!
Yum!
This looks great and I’m glad you cook it for so long – it really requires it and not everyone knows or bothers to do so! It is worth it.
one word…drool!
Yum! This looks fantastic and I love the idea of using the sauce with calamari.
My mouth actually started to water when I looked at that first picture and I don’t even really care for red sauce. I’m inspired by the simplicity of the ingredients list. Adding plum tomato and puree to the grocery list…
I love tomatoes and this just got me wanting some. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Dinner tonight will be store bought ravioli but will be making the marinara sauce from scratch.. no gnocchi though- loved your photos by the way.. In Argentina they spell it ñoqui- cute, right? I can find great canned tomatoes in Buenos Aires. Sometimes in the States I have to put in a bit of sugar to offset the acid but it’s not necessary here. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
You just described my house growing up. 🙂