Classic Marinara Sauce

Just leave your preconceived notions of marinara sauce at the door and make this exactly as presented here. Don't listen to the modifiers. You won't be disappointed and you will NEVER feel the need to modify or tweak.

I have a different opinion especially concerning the use of the basil , to get the most flavor from this unique though fragile herb the secret is not to cook it along the sauce but just at the end when the sauce is done and you are going to pour the pasta , you lay down a top of the plant and you mix it with the whole , the heat will make the herb screaming out its taste and flavor , better , perfum ! That is the way to take the maximum from our most distinguished herb.

I suggest avoiding a cast iron skillet. The acidic tomatoes can pull a metallic taste into the sauce.

I am Italian and this is so right.

Recipe is PERFECT!!! dont change a THING!!! Please try as written before you go "tweaking" -show the chef some respect--do it ONCE as they wrote it, then go ahead and do as you wish. You may find there is a reason for not putting your pre-conceived "shoulds and shouldnt's"--and you may be missing out on one of the best recipes ever!! I think that applies with this one!!

Had to chuckle at the "marinara has fish in it" post. NO. just NO....

Whom ever thinks that one should cook without salt is the one who has no idea how to cook, especially, especially the tomato sauce. Tomatoes are acidic and if cooked without salt acidity will be the only flavor. Salt helps to mellow the acidic flavor.

When I lived in Italy I was taught a similar sauce with onion instead of garlic. You cooked the onion with the chili flakes until the edges started to color slightly then you add a 1/2 cup of wine, cooked it off a minute or two and added tomatoes water and basil just the same as the recipe above. It's a lovely quick sauce and I love both versions

My wife is Sicilian and she puts these same ingredients into a crock pot in the morning (on low). By the end of the day it's truly amazing. Have to make sure crock pot's setting is really low else burns.

Most canned tomatoes are already peeled. If you use fresh tomatoes peeling will avoid pieces of skin but takes a lot more more work. I often do not peel them for sauce but just remove the pieces of skin as they float to the surface during cooking.

Another trick is to freeze the whole fresh tomatoes to store, then put the frozen tomatoes under warm water when ready to use. The skin splits and peels off easily

This recipe was flawless. I followed it almost exactly. I doubled it, but used a normal sized skillet, so it took more like 40 minutes to thicken. Couldn't fit a whole can of water in so just used half. Added a shake of black pepper. Went with the fresh basil and not the oregano option. Seriously this was the best marinara sauce of my life.

Also great if you like puttanesca: Add 1/4 cup drained capers, 1/2 cup dried and cured olives, chopped fine, 3 anchovie fillets, chopped fine. Top with a big handful of chopped parsley, integrate parsley in sauce for 2 minutes, and voila! Do not use salt with this recipe.

An absolute must is to use San Marzano DOP dell'agro Sarnese Nocerino canned tomatoes which must have a certification on the can(they cost more,but it is not filet mignon),otherwise your canned tomatoes could come from anywhere.Invest in a tomato mill,the cost is about $25 for stainless steel,just pour canned tomatoes in,stir and in a few minutes all the seeds are eliminated.Seeds and skin make a tomato sauce bitter.All tomato sauces and ragù freeze perfectly so make big batches and freeze.

My Mom grew up in Naples and this is the real deal. It's my go to sauce for pizza, pasta, lasagna, gnocchi! I double, even triple the recipe and save some in the freezer. Use San Marzano, there is a difference!

Made this for the first time and followed it to the letter. I used Centro San Marasano whole tomatoes. Will never eat jarred supermarket sauce again. I made Italian sausages with it and it was quite the treat!

A teaspoon of kosher salt is not "WAAAAY too much salt!" That much salt will not overpower the flavors. You should not have to "salt to taste" at the table.