Homemade Tomato Marinara Sauce

This sauce makes a delicious accompaniment to any recipe which needs tomato sauce. It’s rich, tasty and ever so satisfying. You could even serve it up as a bowl of soup with some freshly baked, crusty bread.  This recipe makes approximately 4 bowls of soup and is sufficient for the Healthy Spaghetti Squash Lasagne. It also freezes well.

Homemade Tomato Marinara Sauce

Makes sufficient for 4 bowls of soup or a recipe such as the Healthy Spaghetti Squash Lasagne.

2 x 400g tins of chopped or whole tomatoes, pureed.

2 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp tomato puree

1/4 cup red wine or port

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Salt and black pepper

2 – 4 Parmesan rinds or handful grated parmesan

How to prepare Tomato Marinara Sauce

Heat the oil in the pan then add the onion. Fry for 5 minutes on a medium heat then add the garlic. Fry for a further 2 – 3 minutes.  Next add the tomato puree and ideally add it to the centre of the pan by moving the garlic and onions to the edge so that the puree can catch and caramelise on the bottom.  Once it starts sticking to the pan, move it around for a few minutes then add the wine or port.  Simmer until the wine or port evaporates.

Next add the pureed tomatoes, the balsamic vinegar, rock salt and black pepper.  If you have parmesan rinds, lower them into the sauce. They’ll give off a delicious flavour while you simmer the sauce and you remove them just before serving up.

Simmer for a minimum of one hour.  You can safely simmer this for several hours which will help the flavours get even deeper and more delicious.  If simmering for a long time, add a lid to stop it from drying out.

If you don’t have rinds, add the grated parmesan just before serving along with the freshly chopped basil leaves.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoy it!