GratefulReef
Active Member
aside from fish tanks, my other passion in life is cooking! i was a professional chef for 12 years before i decided i needed a change of pace, now in college for env tech. I still love cooking and was thinking we could put together a R2R cookbook? for members to share recipes and such..i'll start us out, hope this goes over well with everyone.
Marinara sauce.
What you'll need:
Fresh Basil(sweet italian,opal are my favorites)
Fresh sweet onion(yellow)
Fresh Garlic(NOT the jarred junk)
Olive Oil(evoo)
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Tomatoes(plum, sam marzano) get the whole tomatoes, not pre crushed
I start with enough oil to just coat the bottom of a nice sauce pot, add the chopped onion cook until translucent. Cook on medium heat
Add chopped garlic, cook until tender dont burn it
Add fresh chopped basil cook 2-3 mins
At this point I also add salt pepper and a light amount of sugar(its just there to help cut the acidity of the tomatoes, NOT to sweeten the sauce)
Then I add the tomatoes from the can(i prefer tuttarosa and drain about 1/3 of the liquid from each can) directly to the pot and put on a low heat with a lid on top of the pot either vented lid or dont put it all the way on to allow heat and steam to escape.
Stir occasionally dont allow the bottom to burn, keep the tomatoes whole they will break up a little as youre stirring but dont smash them just yet.
Every hour or so give a little taste to the sauce to see how the acidity and other levels of spices are, add as you see fit.
After about 3 hours use a potato smasher or other tool to smash the tomatoes make sure not to puree it as marinara is a chunky sauce not a smooth sauce.
After the tomatoes have been smashed keep cooking on low heat but remove the lid, I usually like to cook my sauce 5-6 hours total.
Its important to understand marinara is a chunky sort of watery sauce, not thin or smooth, and cooking is love this is just my recipe and everyone whos ever tasted it thinks its some gourmet 15 dollar a jar stuff. truth be told i spend about 15 bucks on ingrediants and make 4-5 jars(ragu or prego jars) of sauce, works out to a little over 2 bucks a jar can you even get store brand for that? plus the smells in your kitchen will have your family drooling. In fact I am making homemade eggplant parm and my sauce tomorrow, will post pics and show you the love Im creating, bc I dont cook food, I produce love. I hope you'll enjoy and try this recipe and maybe even give me some tips or tricks you did to make it your own love. Also just so everyone knows, im a vegetarian yes i get enough protein yes i get enough of everything i need lol but I can give you recipes for any type of food, though italian is my specialty
Marinara sauce.
What you'll need:
Fresh Basil(sweet italian,opal are my favorites)
Fresh sweet onion(yellow)
Fresh Garlic(NOT the jarred junk)
Olive Oil(evoo)
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Tomatoes(plum, sam marzano) get the whole tomatoes, not pre crushed
I start with enough oil to just coat the bottom of a nice sauce pot, add the chopped onion cook until translucent. Cook on medium heat
Add chopped garlic, cook until tender dont burn it
Add fresh chopped basil cook 2-3 mins
At this point I also add salt pepper and a light amount of sugar(its just there to help cut the acidity of the tomatoes, NOT to sweeten the sauce)
Then I add the tomatoes from the can(i prefer tuttarosa and drain about 1/3 of the liquid from each can) directly to the pot and put on a low heat with a lid on top of the pot either vented lid or dont put it all the way on to allow heat and steam to escape.
Stir occasionally dont allow the bottom to burn, keep the tomatoes whole they will break up a little as youre stirring but dont smash them just yet.
Every hour or so give a little taste to the sauce to see how the acidity and other levels of spices are, add as you see fit.
After about 3 hours use a potato smasher or other tool to smash the tomatoes make sure not to puree it as marinara is a chunky sauce not a smooth sauce.
After the tomatoes have been smashed keep cooking on low heat but remove the lid, I usually like to cook my sauce 5-6 hours total.
Its important to understand marinara is a chunky sort of watery sauce, not thin or smooth, and cooking is love this is just my recipe and everyone whos ever tasted it thinks its some gourmet 15 dollar a jar stuff. truth be told i spend about 15 bucks on ingrediants and make 4-5 jars(ragu or prego jars) of sauce, works out to a little over 2 bucks a jar can you even get store brand for that? plus the smells in your kitchen will have your family drooling. In fact I am making homemade eggplant parm and my sauce tomorrow, will post pics and show you the love Im creating, bc I dont cook food, I produce love. I hope you'll enjoy and try this recipe and maybe even give me some tips or tricks you did to make it your own love. Also just so everyone knows, im a vegetarian yes i get enough protein yes i get enough of everything i need lol but I can give you recipes for any type of food, though italian is my specialty
