Yeh.
I know, marinara is not, normally, a fast sauce; there’s usually a lot of chopping and sautéeing and stirring and tasting and…
well, you get the idea. And my other marinara is kindofa lengthy production; but this version, based on a recipe from the barefoot contessa, comes together, from first bit of chopping to ladling onto pasta (or mebbe dipping cauliflower sticks into) in just about an hour.
INGREDIENTS
•Olive oil
•1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
•1-1/2 tsp minced fresh garlic
•1/2 cup good red wine
•1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
•1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
•1 tsp sea salt
•1/2 tsp seasoned salt
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1 bay leaf
•1/2 tsp dried oregano
•Cheese rind (optional) – I used a couple of inchese from a block of Sartori BellaVitano Balsamic
•1/2 tsp sugar
Drizzle some olive oil into a large pot over medium high heat, then add the onion and sauté for ten minutes – until the onion is tender.
Add the garlic and sauté for one minute more.
Raise the heat to high and add the red wine, scraping up any tasty little browned bits of onion and garlic that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Simmer, stirring, until most of the wine has cooked off – about five minutes – and the onion and garlic are tinted a deep, rich red.
Reduce the heat to medium low, then add the tomatoes, seasonings, and the cheese rind, if you’re using it.
Don’t add the sugar just yet.
Stir to combine everything and cook, stirring often for 15 minutes.
Give it a taste.
Good, no?
I thought so, but, to me, it was just a wee, tiny bit too acidic, so I stirred in the sugar and simmered the marinara for another 15 minutes.
Note: if you really do not want to add sugar, but would like a sweeter marinara, try sautéeing some finely chopped carrot (mebbe a cup or so) in the olive oil along with the onion; they’ll add a bit of natural sweetness to your sauce. Still and all, I didn’t use lot of sugar, and the sauce took next to no time – as a matter of fact, I started working on it just after I popped the cauliflower sticks in the oven, and the marinara was ready and waiting when I served them.
Nice. And nicely done.