Homemade marinara sauce smells so divine in your kitchen when it’s cooking, and it can be used in many different recipes - it’s always good to have a jar on hand. This recipe is made only with real fresh ingredients, no canned tomatoes or pastes around here. The key to a good marinara is super juicy bright red tomatoes. I like to use the grape cherry tomatoes, they are bright red and have a much sweeter taste. The next step is loads of garlic 6-10 cloves. Garlic to me is a superfood, it fights off bad bugs in your digestive system, which helps you stay well - so the more garlic the better. Next is really good quality extra virgin olive oil, and again we use around 1/2 cup to a cup, you want your tomatoes swimming in an olive oil bath. Lastly is a big bunch of fresh basil, stems and leaves. We place this on top to infuse the sauce, and it’s removed at the end so there are no chunks of brown basil in the sauce but still retains all the flavour. Bellissimo!
EQUIPMENT
I like to use a cast iron pan, it is great for heat distribution, and is the best for simmering without burning. Cast iron also adds minerals of iron into your food while cooking, which is an added health bonus, especially for women. Wooden spoon for stirring, so no plastic leaks into your cooking.
INGREDIENTS
2 x small containers of mini red grape tomatoes
OR 10 x Roma tomatoes (approx 2 cups)
10 x cloves of fresh garlic
1/2 cup of organic olive oil
2 x whole stem of basil leaves
Himalayan salt + black pepper
1. Chop grape tomatoes in halves, or Roma in small 1 cm pieces and finely mince the garlic.
2. Heat your cast iron pan to a medium/ high heat, pour your olive oil in the pan and then add the chopped tomatoes, lightly sauté, and then add the garlic on top, try leave it on top so it doesn’t burn.
3. Let them boil for 1 min, and then turn the heat down to low. Add the basil leaves with stems attached on top and lightly submerge them in the sauce to infuse, cover and let it simmer for 20-30 mins - or up to 1 hour.
4. Uncover, remove the basil stems from the sauce, discard. Roughly mix the tomatoes and garlic around, the tomatoes skin should fall apart and turn into a delicious chunky thick sauce.
5. Add S+P to season.
6. Voila, this is the perfect tomato sauce base for any pasta dish. I like to add in other veggies, like onion, zucchini. Get creative!
STORAGE
This sauce will last in sealed mason jar for up to 2 weeks in the fridge, or 3 months in the freezer.
