My marinara recipe makes quite a bit of sauce so I put it in jars and stuck them in the freezer, where they will last six months. If you do freeze your sauce, make sure you use freezer-safe jars and don’t fill the sauce to the very top, as it will expand in the freezer and WILL explode if you fill the jars too full. I might know that from experience. MIGHT. Now I have plenty of sauce on hand for pizza, pasta, chicken, or anything else that needs tomato sauce. It tastes a thousand times better than store-bought sauce and costs approximately $1.25 a jar to make. Even with my coupons, I can’t get a deal like that on store-bought sauce! This particular recipe starts off with a little bit of chopping and is finished with just a few clicks of your can opener. This summer I plan on showing you how to use fresh tomatoes to make sauce but since tomatoes aren’t quite in season yet, tomatoes in a can will work just fine.
Tomorrow I will show you how to use this sauce in a delightful, classic Italian dish! Stay tuned for part two!
| Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce- Part One |
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
- 4 to 6 basil leaves
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional
- In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
- Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
- If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.
Recipe Source: Giada De Laurentiis
