The plus side of living stateside is the fact that I have access to FRESH fruits and vegetables. In Guam, everything was oftentimes past it's peak or not readily available. And if it were available, it was gone in a blink of an eye. God, I missed vegetables. Even finding a good-tasting tomato was hard to find.
With that being said, I have made marinara sauce before using ingredients I had on hand. Although using canned tomatoes was convenient, I felt that I was cheating my inner chef. Inner thrifty home-maker was pretty happy with the results, but inner chef was screaming to work with fresher ingredients. Thankfully, with the abundance of farmer's markets like Freshfields Farm, Jacksonville Farmer's Market, and Camden Tomato House in derivable distance, fresh ingredients aren't hard to find. So, I decided to remake the marinara sauce again.
I knew that basic marinara sauce was primarily tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions. So, I looked through my pinterest board for some ideas and decided to use a combination of these three recipes. Mainly, using their major herbs and putting them in mine. Also, I wanted my sauce to have a kick of garlic . . . a nod to all things Italian, lol.
But not everything was farm fresh. Inner thrifty home-maker was tired of tediously mincing garlic by hand so a bottle of minced garlic was bought and stored in the fridge. With that being said, instead of bottle minced garlic, a substitution of 5 to 6 fresh garlic cloves would probably work.
In the end, I love how this sauce tastes. It's not as red as I'd like it to be, but the flavor is awesome! It's got a good amount of garlic, very tomatoey, and just the right flavor from the combination of herbs. If anything, I think I made too little. Can you imagine if I had made this during tomato season?? And inner chef? Definitely happy. :)
Fresh Marinara Sauce
(adapted from Angie's Kitchen, Homemade Hooplah, and Tide and Thyme)
3 large vine ripe tomatoes, chopped
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp bottled minced garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp paprika
2 tbsp finely chopped italian parsley
salt and pepper
water, as needed*
In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat then add onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes until fragrant and onion begin to soften. Add tomatoes, dried herbs, and paprika. Season with salt and pepper, then continue cooking until tomatoes reduce and sauce thickens (about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in parsley and reseason as needed. Simmer for a further few minutes then serve.
*If sauce is too thick, add water as needed and reseason to taste.
Makes about 2 cups.
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