Italian Marinara Sauce

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped, or one 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes, with juice
⅓ cup virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
½ a small onion, peeled and quartered
6 sprigs fresh basil, or 2 tablespoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
6 sprigs fresh parsley
Salt and ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Click here for instructions on how to peel a tomato.
Place all ingredients in a blender.
Pulse until tomatoes, garlic, and onion are coarsely chopped up.
Pour sauce into a saucepan.
Bring sauce to a simmer and cook uncovered until sauce is thickened, 10 to 20 minutes.

Comments

Makes about 4 cups of sauce.

The best type of tomato for this sauce is a plum tomato. What is a plum tomato? It is has an oval shape and is known for its meatier texture.

Plum tomatoes are also called Roma tomatoes or Italian tomatoes.

You can adjust seasonings to your tastes. I like a lot of basil, but you don't want to overwhelm the dish the sauce is going to compliment.

This is a perfect sauce for spaghetti and meatballs.

Categorized in

Recipe from Joy of Cooking, by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker. New York: Scribner (1997).