Saturday, January 30, 2010

Marinara Sauce

I made a marinara sauce tonight for the second time. I made this same recipe about a week ago and it was so delicious and fresh tasting that I kept eating it by the spoonful when I was trying to put it away. Tonight I just made it after dinner to use up some carrots and celery that were on the verge of going off, so I haven't actually tasted it yet, but I am hopeful that it is just as good. I found the recipe on the food network website. It's a Giada di Laurentis recipe. She's Italian, so I'm thinking it's reasonably authentic and she's very upbeat and smiley, which drives my brother Mike crazy, but I don't mind it.

I have encountered chunky marinara with carrots and celery before, in fact I think I have even improvised sauces in the past with green peppers, carrots, onions and tomatoes when I have not had a jar of sauce on hand, but I have always thought of marinara as a catch all name for tomato-based pasta sauce. I'm still unclear as to whether that is the case, or if "Spaghetti Sauce", the traditional Ragu style tomato puree with garlic, basil and oregano would be considered something different. What I have learned is that marinara sauce originated with sailors in Naples in the 16th century, after the Spaniards introduced them to the tomato. The word marinara is derived from marinaro, which is Italian for “of the sea.” Because of this, many people believe it includes some type of fish or seafood. However, marinara sauce loosely translates as “the sauce of the sailors,” because it was a meatless sauce extensively used on sailing ships before modern refrigeration techniques were invented. Because the high acid content of the tomatoes and the absence of any type of meat fat resulted in a sauce which would not easily spoil, marinara sauces were particularly appealing to the cooks on these ships.

I'm reprinting the recipe just as Giada wrote it, but I think you can take quite a bit of liberty with it. For instance, the first time I made it I had no celery. This time I used three garlic cloves, because I like a lot of garlic and three carrots because I needed to use all of them and they were small. I think next time I will add green peppers. You could also do crushed red-pepper, I might do that with a serving when I reheat it. It's very nice with polenta, as well as pasta and quite good all on it's own.

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)

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