Marinara Sauce

(This is actually my sauce after I had simmered my meatballs in it, so there are bits of meat in it)

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to attempt a homemade pasta sauce, but I’m glad my first try comes from Scratch.Love’s recipe. (Check out her recipe for the original) I found it very easy to make and was really happy with the results. I followed it up by making her recipe for Italian Meatballs, which were yummy and which post will be following this one. I used the last of the sauce and meatballs with some spelt spaghetti, which was a big hit with the grandkids. For me, that’s the measure of a recipe’s success! Here’s my what-I-had-on-hand version:

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced (can use up to 3)
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 Tbs. coconut oil (or ghee)
4 (14.5 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 1/2 Tbs dried basil leaves
1 Tbs dried oregano
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp fire roasted tomatoes (dry, crushed)¹

Melt coconut oil in large sauce pot. Add diced vegetables and cook until onion is tender, watching closely.

Measure out spices and combine with vegetables.

Add tomato paste, stirring well, then add remaining tomatoes.

Simmer for approximately 30 minutes, until carrots and celery are thoroughly cooked.

Using a stick (or immersion) blender, VERY carefully blend mixture to desired level of puree. (This can also be done in a regular blender)

Some mixture can be taken out before pureeing and then added back if you prefer more texture. I just mixed mine till it was mostly pureed, but still had some chunky pieces.

Simmer on low heat for 4-6 hours. I cooked mine in the crock pot for about 6 hours. Eat and enjoy and/or freeze some for later use.

¹ Not necessary, but I had them on hand and wanted an excuse to use them!

Thank you, Scratch.Love!

This post is part of the Monday Mania blog carnival at the healthy Home Economist.

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