Spaghetti or Marinara Sauce {with canned or fresh tomatoes}
This spaghetti or marinara sauce is out of this world good. You can make it with either canned or diced tomatoes and the classic flavor will have you coming back for more.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet Italian sausage casings removed, see note for meatless option
- 1 cup diced white onion
- 4 large cloves garlic minced
- 1 28-ounce can (or 2 14.5-ounce cans) diced tomatoes see note for fresh tomatoes
- 1 12-ounce can (or 2 6-ounce cans) tomato paste
- 4 8-ounce cans (or 2 15-ounce cans) tomato sauce see note for fresh tomatoes
- 2 cups water adjustable, see note
- 1 tablespoon dried basil see note
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley see note
- 4 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt see note for fresh tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- hot cooked pasta for serving
- fresh basil, parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
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In a large Dutch oven or heavy stockpot over medium heat, brown Italian sausage, breaking up meat as you stir.
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When meat is almost completely browned, add diced onions and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Stir in minced garlic and cook for a minute until aromatic.
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Add tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, basil, parsley, brown sugar, salt, crushed red pepper, and black pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently for an hour. Follow recipe notes for a shorter or longer simmer time, keeping in mind that sauce will develop a richer flavor the more time you let it simmer.
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Serve marinara over hot, cooked pasta, if desired. This sauce also freezes well for 6 months. To freeze, cool sauce and pack into quart sized freezer bags.
Recipe Notes
1. For a meatless marinara sauce, omit the sausage and sauté the onions and garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil (heated first).
2. Use 28-ounces of fresh tomatoes in place of the canned diced tomatoes and increase the salt in the recipe to 1 ½ teaspoons. I normally just wash, core, and stick the tomatoes (peels and all) in the blender a pulse a few times, but you can blanch them, remove their skins and dice them if you want.
3. The water in the recipe is adjustable based on how long you will be simmering the sauce. If you will be simmering for a full hour (for the best flavor), use the full 2 cups. Adapt that amount if you are in a hurry and need to simmer less time. If you want to simmer more time, you will want to add additional water, if needed and watch the sauce closely so it doesn't scorch.
4. Sometimes in the middle of the tomato harvest season I will make this recipe using 48 ounces or 6 cups fresh tomato puree in place of the cans of tomato sauce. To make tomato puree: core the tomatoes, and blend them, skins and all, until pureed. If using fresh tomato puree, omit the water in the recipe and cook the sauce longer until the liquid cooks down (maybe 1 ½ to 2 hours). Adjust the salt, to taste at the end.
5. Another thing I do during tomato harvest is dehydrate tomatoes and then blend them into tomato powder. To do this, blend cored, washed tomatoes into tomato puree, pour them on fruit leather trays and dehydrate at 135 degrees until dry and brittle (12-24 hours). Then break into pieces and add to a dry blender and blend until powder. I substitute ½ cup tomato powder + ¼ cup water for the tomato paste in this recipe (I will omit the extra water if I am using tomato puree for the tomato sauce). Increase the salt to 2 teaspoons.
6. I haven't tried it yet but I plan to substitute fresh herbs in place of the dried. I will start with 3 tablespoons freshly chopped basil and 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley and see how that goes.