Ever wonder what you are going to do for dinner? Then you look in the pantry and realize all you have is pasta and jarred marinara sauce….. Don’t let that happen again!
Here is a very easy marinara sauce that you can make a huge batch of. It freezes beautifully. Then when you are stuck, you can just pull one out of the freezer, cook up some pasta, and be a culinary hero to your family.
Start out with fresh ingredients. You will need carrots, celery, onion, garlic and basil.
Take out a large pot and heat over medium heat. Add about a tablespoon (one circle of the pan) of olive oil. Then add the celery, carrot and onion. Those three ingredients are called mirepoix. Cook them down until they get soft. Then add your garlic.
Stir in your canned tomato ingredients which are 2 cans of diced tomatoes, drained, and 2 cans of pureed or crushed tomatoes. Also add 2 bay leaves and 1 Tbsp. of tomato paste. Mix the sauce well. Cover and lower the heat. Allow the sauce to simmer for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Taste it as it is cooking and add salt or pepper to your taste.
When you are ready, turn off the heat and toss in the fresh basil. Mix it all together. Fish out those bay leaves and then you are ready to serve.
I like to serve this dish with one of my favorite white wines, Kris Pinot Grigio.
So Easy Marinara
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 ribs of celery, finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cans pureed tomatoes
2 cans diced tomatoes, drained
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1/2 C. fresh basil, chopped
Sautee the chopped veggies in the olive oil over medium heat until soft. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Pour in the canned ingredients. Add the tomato paste and bay leaves. Cover and reduce heat. Cook on low for 30 minutes to 2 hours. When ready to serve, stir in the chopped basil.