Welcome to the point where I sit in the kitchen, staring at a bowl full of organic tomatoes on-the-vine, and think to myself it’s time to branch out a little and try to create and do something with them…because I had a lot of tomatoes and I didn’t want them to go to waste. I also had an eggplant in the refrigerator from my weekly CSA and I had every intention of cooking up some eggplant rollatini with it. So, what better way to use tomatoes up than to make your own marinara sauce.
And that’s exactly what I did. In a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-chef-pants sort of way. I went into the pantry, the spice cabinet, and the fridge and pulled out ingredients I felt would make a flavorful marinara sauce.
In the end…I wasn’t disappointed.
This…good friends…is my very own recipe!!!
Recipe: Homemade Marinara Sauce
Servings: 4
Time: Prep 15 minutes; Cook 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds organic on-the-vine tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small white onion, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup red wine
1 tsp dried basil (or 2 tbsp fresh)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried parsley
salt, to taste
Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
Prepare an ice bath and place near the stove.
Using a paring knife, cut a shallow x onto the bottom of each tomato and carefully add the tomatoes to the boiling water and cook until the skins split, 15 to 20 seconds.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes and place immediately into the ice bath. When they have cooled completely, removed the skins and discard.
Quarter the tomatoes. Remove the seeds. Chop the tomatoes and set aside.
Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and cook until softened, 3-4 minutes.
Add the garlic and continue cooking until fragrant, about a minute more.
Stir in tomatoes. Cook until sauce reaches a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low. Add the balsamic vinegar and tomato paste, and stir in. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Add the red wine and allow liquid to simmer and reduce. Add salt, to taste. Then stir in the basil, oregano, and parsley.
Pour the ingredients from the pan into a food processor and pulse until it is to the consistency that you like.
Serve over pasta, pizza, veggies…or whatever. This marinara is so versatile.
~*~*~
I admit it…I was playing with fire when I went into the kitchen to cook this up. I started off with a recipe, but before even getting started, I tossed it out, said “Screw it…I’m winging it.” And that’s what I did. The result…a flavorful, robust, delicious marinara that I ended up using over homemade eggplant rollatini. Great flavor. The tomatoes and the wine pair up perfectly and really bring the flavor to the sauce. I surprised myself when I cooked this up. Now I can’t wait to get in there and experiment some more.
Please…try my recipe and let me know what you think!
Bon Appétit!
The Celiathlete 
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