Monday, 2 May 2016

Basic Marinara Sauce

Basic Marinara Sauce
4 cups of sauce, enough to dress a pound of pasta (or a bit more)
This recipe is great for anytime you need tomato sauce, but it is a must for pizza!

Ingredients
4 cups (35 oz can) Italian plum tomatoes with juices
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sliced garlic
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes, or more to taste
1 tsp salt
1 stalk of fresh basil (or 1 tbsp fresh frozen)
Nice splash of hot tap water from rinsed from tomato can

Directions
Pour the tomatoes and juice into a big mixing bowl. Using both hands, crush the tomatoes and break them up into small pieces.

Pour the oil into a big skillet, scatter in the garlic slices in the oil and set over medium-high heat. Cook for 1-1/2 minutes or so until the slices are sizzling, add and toast the hot pepper flakes for another half minute.

Shake and stir the pan until the garlic slices are light gold and starting to darken. Immediately pour in the crushed tomatoes and stir in with the garlic. Rinse out the tomato can and bowl with water, and dump it into the skillet too.

Raise the heat; sprinkle in the salt and stir. Add basil into the sauce until completely covering it. When the sauce is boiling, cover the pan, reduce the heat slightly and cook for 15 minutes at an actively bubbling simmer.

Uncover the pan and cook another 5 minutes or so. The sauce should be only slightly reduced from the original volume; still loose and juicy. Remove the basil stalk or sprigs from the skillet and discard. Keep at a low simmer until the pasta is ready.

To dress pasta with Marinara sauce, toss and cook them together. Remove the skillet from the heat and toss in the cheese just before serving, or use for pizza sauce.






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