This is my go-to recipe for marinara sauce. I use it for pasta and also eggplant, cauliflower or chicken parmesan. I promise that it is almost as easy as opening a jar, and it tastes a lot better! It’s a variation of a New York Times recipe that was adapted from one in “Lidia’s Commonsense Italian Cooking” by Lidia Bastianich (Knopf, 2013).
If I am making my versions of cauliflower or eggplant parmesan (which involve baking the vegetables alone first), I find that I can make this sauce while they are in the oven. I also sometimes make it the day before I am using it to save a step, and it can be easily frozen as well.
Using San Marzano tomatoes is preferable, but I can’t find them easily in Hong Kong. I look for organic tomatoes, preferable from Italy or Spain. My favorite tool for slicing the garlic is the Pampered Chef Garlic Slicer. Perfect garlic shavings every time!
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Easy Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 14 oz (400g) cans whole tomatoes can substitute 28 oz can
- 1 cup water
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 6-7 garlic cloves peeled and sliced very thinly
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp Kosher salt or to taste
- 1 large fresh basil sprig
Instructions
- Place tomatoes in a large bowl. Crush them with a potato masher or your hands, breaking up the tomatoes and removing any stems. Add a total of 1 cup of water to the can(s). Pour the water in with the tomatoes, tilting the cans to get as much of the tomato residue left on the sides out.
- Heat the oil in a large wide skillet (frying pan) over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 20-30 seconds. Add the crushed red pepper and cook just until the garlic starts to sizzle, making sure it doesn't start to brown. (20-30 more seconds)
- Pour the tomato and water mixture in with the garlic. Add the salt. (I usually start with ½ tsp first and then taste it as canned tomatoes can have a lot of salt in them.)
- Place the basil sprig in the middle of the pan on top of the tomatoes. It will start to wilt and at that point you can stir it into the sauce. Simmer until the sauce thickens and the surface oil looks orange, about 15-20 minutes. Taste and season with more salt or crushed red pepper as desired.