Italian-style marinara tomato sauce
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
Sauce
- 30 ml extra virgin olive oil rounded
- 12 g garlic, thinly sliced rounded
- 800 g whole peeled canned tomatoes, crushed by hand, with their juices rounded
- 2 g dried oregano rounded
- 0.5 g chile flakes, optional rounded
- 7 g fine salt rounded
- 10 g fresh basil leaves, torn just before use rounded
Method
Method
- Warm the olive oil in a 24 cm saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced garlic and cook for 60 to 90 seconds, stirring, until fragrant and barely golden at the edges. Do not let it brown deeply or it will taste bitter.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and their juices carefully because they may splutter. Stir in the oregano, optional chile flakes, and salt.
- Bring to a gentle simmer, then lower the heat. Cook uncovered for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring every few minutes and scraping the bottom, until the raw tomato taste is gone and the sauce lightly coats a spoon.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the torn basil. Taste and adjust the salt. If serving with pasta or gnocchi, loosen the sauce in a wide pan with a splash of starchy cooking water before adding the cooked pasta.
Ingredient substitutions
- In Germany, canned whole San Marzano-style tomatoes or good-quality whole geschälte Tomaten both work. Passierte Tomaten produce a smoother sauce and usually need 5 to 10 minutes less cooking.
- In Canada, use whole canned plum tomatoes or passata. Thick commercial tomato purée may need 50 to 100 ml water so it simmers rather than scorches.
- Flat-leaf parsley may replace basil for a sharper finish. Add it off the heat, just as you would the basil.
Notes
- Marinara here means a meatless Italian-style tomato sauce. It should not be confused with seafood pasta marinara.
- Cool the sauce in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours. Keep refrigerated for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat to a rolling simmer while stirring. Add a spoonful of water if freezing has made the sauce too thick.