Listen, I get it… You don’t have all day to stir a sauce. Marinara sauce – Are you kidding me!?! Dinner has to be on the table in the next 55 minutes or mutiny will ensue! People are hungry, woman!
Ok, its fine… I get it. Really… You want to use the stuff that comes out of a jar. That’s fine too. No judgments here. It’s much simpler anyway, right? You open a jar, dump it on your pasta, or dip your mozzarella sticks and be done with it.
Again, I get it. I’m still that person; to an extent. I started reading labels. I guess you can say a change came over me. I’ve become very conscious of what I put on my dinner table. That in no way means you should obsessively read food labels, frantically tossing anything with a sodium content of 400 mg or higher, or ingredients you can’t pronounce.
No, not at all.
That’s just my attack of the crazies…
Moving on…
However…
Wouldn’t you benefit from a nice tangy tomato sauce that only takes about 25 minutes to make? See, I failed to mention this is a Quick marinara sauce. I also failed to mention, even though the recipe does say two teaspoons of salt you control the salt that goes into this sauce?
You have complete control!
Really -You!
Are you excited? You darn well should be – I just gave you all sorts of power!
I made this sauce for a chicken pizza roll (recipe and story next post), but you can use it for whatever strikes your mood.
And…
You can freeze this sauce, forget about it and use it when… Well, I don’t know when. That’s totally up to you.
What does quick mean, actually? Well… Quick means we’re going to take a couple of short cuts. We’re going to use canned tomatoes.
*Gasp!*
Wait… Before you scratch your head, read this post over, wondering if I’m totally crazy suggesting something canned, hear me out. We’re living in times where people are becoming much more mindful of what they put in their bodies. Trust me, food distributors are taking a listen. Nowadays we have many low-sodium or no-sodium options. Isn’t that great? So yes, you can use canned or bottled items; just make sure you go for low sodium, and preferably organic varieties if you can find them. Sometimes that won’t always be the case, but do the best you can. I’m not perfect either. Just take a look at my taco recipe.
If you would like to use fresh plum tomatoes, go for it. However, this sauce will take much longer to cook.
I used these Cento canned tomatoes because the sodium content is 130mg per serving; amazing in comparison to others at 500mg per serving.
Thyme and basil.
I used half a Vidalia onion. Vidalia onions are sweet and mild in comparison to regular onions; something to do with the lack of sulfur in the soil. I love to dice Vidalia’s. They don’t make me cry.
Can’t forget the garlic!
Sauté onions and garlic over medium high heat until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with the reserved juice, thyme sprigs and basil. Bring it to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Uncover the pan and simmer for another 10 minutes until thickened.
Puree with your handy immersion blender. A regular blender is good, too. Don’t have an immersion hand blender? Please get one. Pretty please? It’s an “I-don’t-have-to-wash-a-lot-of-dishes” must have. That’s unless you like washing dishes. I don’t. Not even a little bit.
And you’re done! You have this wonderfully tangy, mildly sweet marinara sauce with very little effort. A sauce that’s so delicious you’ll want to dip everything into. An easy sauce that’s almost as easy as opening up a jar…
Almost…
Love,
Me….
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Quick Marinara Sauce Adapted from: The Food Network
Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 large sized Vidalia onion, diced
5-6 cloves garlic, sliced
3 (28-ounce) cans whole, peeled, tomatoes, roughly chopped. Reserve half of the tomato juice
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 small bunch fresh basil, leaves chopped
2 teaspoons salt, or salt to taste
ground black pepper
Instructions:
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic over medium high heat until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, reserved juice, thyme sprigs, basil and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for about 15 minutes. Uncover the pan and simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes or until thickened.
Remove and discard the thyme sprigs. Stir in the salt and season with pepper, to taste.
Puree in blender or with an immersion hand blender. Serve or store in an airtight container for up to two days in the refrigerator, or 2 months in the freezer.
Yield: 6 cups
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Yield: 6 cups
Cooking time (duration): 30
My rating: 5 stars: ★★★★★ 1 review(s)
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