Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes

By toobze

Ingredients

• 4 lb Roma Tomatoes
• 2 Yellow Onions diced
• 5-6 Cloves Garlic minced
• 1/3 Cup Fresh Parsley chopped
• 1/3 Cup Fresh Basil chopped
• 1 Tbs Dried Oregano
• 1/4 Tspn Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 Tbs Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Dry Red Wine (Preferably Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot)
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from kneadforfood.com

Preparation

Step 1

Makes 4-5 cups

The most annoying part of making fresh marinara is peeling all of the skins off of the tomatoes.  They need to be blanched and shocked, which means to boil them for about 30 seconds (blanch) and then put them in ice water (shock).  After sitting in the ice water bath for a minute or so, the skins should peel right off.

Use a paring knife to cut the cores out of the tomatoes and then slash an “x” in the bottom.  The slashes in the bottom will help the skins come off later.  Prepare a bowl of ice half filled with water, and boil enough water to put 5-6 tomatoes in at a time.  DO NOT put all of the tomatoes in at once.  The temperature of the water will drop dramatically and you will no longer be blanching but poaching and thus ruining your tomatoes.  Boil a few at a time for 30 seconds to a minute each.  The skins should look a bit cracked when they are ready.  Put them in the ice water to stop the cooking process and finish the rest.  Once done, the skins should come off fairly easily.

You can either chop the tomatoes or pulse them in a food processor to break them down, either will work the same in the end.  Get a big ol’ pot and heat the olive oil. 

Add the red pepper flakes and then sauté the onions and celery. 
Season with salt and cook for a minute before adding the garlic. 
Cook for another minute before adding the sugar, oregano and tomatoes. 
Season generously with salt and pepper. 
Bring to a simmer and cook for 1-1/2 – 2 hours over medium low heat. 
Stir as you go so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.  Near the end add the wine. 
Remember that it will thicken as it cools, so don’t make it too thick now, or it will be paste when it’s cools.

I used a hand blender to puree some of the marinara, but left some chunks.  A food mill works well for this also. 
Add the fresh herbs in after pureeing. 
Cool in a jar and use with your favorite pastas.

You mention add celery in the instructions,however do not have it in the ingredients

When do you add the parsley and basil? I put them in with the tomatoes. Is there a better way?

Honestly, I would say there is no substitute for wine, especially those “cooking wines”. The wine does not help preserve the sauce, but merely adds a depth of flavor. My suggestion, for allergies sake, just cut it out and replace it with water or stock. Good luck.

adding a little balsamic vinegar (maybe 2 table spoons to taste) instead of wine will give it depth too but it will not be the same as wine

You would need to omit the oil and fresh herbs, then add lemon juice to acidify the sauce before canning. You’d be safer to find a canning specific recipe and following that. This recipe freezes well though!