Easy To Make Classic Marinara Sauce – Stepwise

Hello!

Last few days have been the most hectic days of my life. There was blog related work, food events, prepping for the festival of lights and the regular family chores. It was really very tiring especially when my body is fighting severe infection and has been put on strong dosage of antibiotics for a prolonged period, but that didn’t falter my spirit and eventually I did manage to finish most of the things on time. But in all this I could not find time to sit and write a blog post which I actually love the most.

I believe I type very slow and that’s probably the reason that I spend a lot of time finishing  a post. If you have any tips on improving the typing speed, I am all ears. Leave me a note in the comment box or just shoot me a mail at cookingoodfood@gmail.com

Last month I had participated in Navaratri contest at Archana’s Kitchen and there I had won the second prize, which got me a Kitchen Aid Chopper. This is my first Kitchen Aid product and I can’t tell you how elated I’m on receiving it.

The machine works like a charm. The blade is very sharp and helps me chop, crush food items easily. I used it extensively during Diwali to  make an elaborate meal for the family. Unfortunately, I could not click each item separately in all the festive chaos but I used the chopper again to make a batch of marinara sauce using the cherry tomatoes which I had greedily bought at Crawford market as I got them for INR50/kg.

The marinara sauce is a classic Italian sauce that originated in Naples. It is made with tomatoes, garlic, herbs and onions. Italians refer to marinara sauce only in association with other recipes, Pizza-Marinara. I also went ahead and  made a bottle of my favourite Red Bell Pepper-Tomato Basil  Sauce using the remaining cherry tomatoes, utilising the chopper again.

The Kitchen aid chopper made my job very easy as the tomatoes pureed quickly in the chopper. The sauce was ready in less than an hour and I can assure you it’s far better than any readymade bottle. It’s pure and authentic in taste without any added preservatives.

The vegan marinara sauce stays good for a week in the refrigerator and up to  4months in deep freezer. The sauce is versatile and can be used in main course for making pasta/pizza sauce or as an accompaniment to starters as a  spread or a dip.

Marinara Sauce

मरिनारा सॉस​

Preparation Time: 20mins | Cooking Time: 15-20mins | Makes: about 2cups | Serves: 4 | Difficulty Level: Easy

 

Ingredients For Marinara sauce

650gms Cherry Tomatoes/ Canned tomatoes/ Roma Tomatoes

5-6 small garlic cloves

one medium sized onion, finely chopped

3-4tbsp olive oil/ refined oil

1tsp sugar

10-12 fresh basil leaves

1tsp dry basil leaves

1/2tsp freshly crushed black pepper as per taste

salt to taste

Method

Wash the tomatoes and then blanch them. (Blanching means putting in boiling water for 15-20 seconds and then removing them).

Put the blanched tomatoes in cold water to stop the process of cooking.

Puree the tomatoes. I used my newly acquired KitchenAid chopper for the process.

Pass the puree through a strainer. Puree the tomato pieces left in the strainer and strain again. Repeat the process till only seeds are left. This step can be avoided if using canned tomatoes.

Heat olive oil and add the chopped garlic and let it turn light golden in colour.

Tip in the onions and sauté till translucent.

Add the tomato puree, salt to taste and a little sugar to balance the tartness of the tomatoes.

Add freshly torn basil leaves, crushed dry basil.

Add freshly crushed black pepper.

Cook till the sauce thickens to a spreadable consistency.

Cool and fill it in a glass jar and top it with a layer of olive oil.

Notes

The colour of the sauce becomes slightly darker as the tomatoes cook.
In the absence of fresh basil leaves add 1/2tsp more of dry basil.
The olive oil imparts a more authentic taste to the sauce.