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Italian Marinara

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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 28-32 oz. crushed tomatoes or, you can use 12-16 fresh garden Roma tomatoes
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ½ - 1 tsp black pepper and/or red pepper flakes.
  • 1 large carrot, cut into large pieces optional
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil and/or butter
  • ½ onion, chopped diced
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced minced
  • 2 tsp dried basil or 2 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
  • 2 tsp dried parsley or 2 Tbsp fresh chopped Italian parsley
  • ½ - 1 # Italian sausage shrimp or scallops are also an option
  • Red wine
  • 1 # Pasta
  • Grated Italian Cheese Parmigiana, Romano, etc

Optional ingredients

  • fresh or canned mushrooms
  • bell pepper
  • black olives

Instructions
 

  • Add 2 Tbsp of olive oil and/or butter to your sauce pan and brown the Italian sausage, remove when finished.
  • (If you are using shrimp or scallops for a seafood marinara, these do not need to be browned and you will add these for the last 5 minutes of marinara cook time).
  • When the meat is done, add another Tbsp of olive oil or butter and cook the onions for 10-15 minutes until they are soft and browned on the edges.
  • If using dried herbs, add them to the onions about half way through (if using fresh herbs, wait to add these for the last couple of minutes of cook time).
  • Add the garlic to the onion for the last 5 minutes
  • Deglaze the sauce pan with some wine.
  • Add the tomatoes and bring them to a simmer. If you are making a large batch a mix of crushed and diced tomatoes works very well.
  • Add the salt, sugar, and pepper to the tomatoes.
  • Add any additional, optional ingredients to the sauce,
  • Optional, you can also add a large carrot cut in pieces to the sauce to absorb some acid and release some sugar
  • Simmer uncovered, stirring regularly, until thickened.
  • In another pot, cook the pasta in 4 quarts of water to 1# pasta, in an 8 quart or larger pot with 2 Tbsp. salt. Cook extra el dente (2-3 minutes less than the package says) and then stop the pasta from cooking by adding 2 cups cold water. Drain.
  • Add the pasta back to the pot and add 2-3 ladles of marinara sauce to the pasta and stir over a medium-high heat until thickened.
  • If using fresh herbs or seafood, add for the last 5-8 minutes of marinara cook time.
  • Serve pasta on each plate and then add an additional ladle full of sauce on top with some grated cheese.