marinara and other italian sauces

[Hornfan#10]

So we've had threads on salsas and guac, lets see the italian side of things, I've never made a non mexican sauce, but would like to expand my knowledge. Post some of your favorite recipes.

 

[scottsins]

sautee a bunch of garlic (chooped fresh garlic, not run thorugh a garlic press) and onions/shallots slowly until clear in extra virgin olive oil. Next, add some red wine and cook down for about 5 minutes. then, add tomatoes (Pomi are the best). before adding tomatoes, jsut break down with your hands and use all the liquid too.

at the END, add fresh basil, fresh oregano or whatever. to make the sauce more of a Putanesca style, add chopped black olives and an entire can of finely chopped anchovies.

Italian sauces aren't rocket science at all, and complicated recipes are really unnecessary.

just do everything in separate steps with cooking time in between,since that's how you layer the flavors.

The only other hard rule is adding fresh herbs at the end. you don't really want to cook the herbs, since they turn black and get bitter if you do.

as far as measurements, don't bother, since you'll know from tasting and trial/error what you like.

 

[GakFoo]

1 of 2 bolognese recipes that i use:

2 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground veal
1 pound ground pork
2 slices smoked bacon, chopped fine
2 onions chopped fine
2 carrots, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 lb white or crimini mushrooms, stemmed, then quartered
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon fennel seed, toasted, then ground
2 bay leaves
1 16 oz can of tomatoes (san marzano if possible), chopped roughly
1 cup heavy cream
2 pounds spaghetti

brown the meats. drain fat, add chicken stock, water, bay leaves. cook for an hour, simmering.

in a separate pan, sautee the bacon down a bit, then add the carrots, onion, and celery and cook until soft. add it to the meat, then cook it all for a few minutes.

add the tomatoes and the quartered mushrooms. simmer for an another hour and then add nutmeg, salt, fennel, and cayenne, cook for another 15 minutes

let it cool and sit overnight, cool in fridge.

next evening, cook pasta. heat up sauce and add heavy cream. add sauce to pasta.

top with grated parmesan.

 

[DoobieWah]

Large (28 oz) Can of Peeled Tomatoes, With Juice. (If whole, chop coarsely with a knife; I often use "Chef's Cut Style")
3 Large Cloves of Garlic Chopped Fine
1/2 Large Onion Chopped Coarsely
1 Tbsp of good quality Olive Oil, (cheap OO isn't worth the effort)
1/2 Cup of Red Wine

Sautee Onions in Olive Oil
When opaque, add Garlic and sautee 1 minute.
Add wine and deglaze. Allow to reduce one or two minutes.
Add tomatoes and stir thoroughly.

Here's the fun part. This is where you get creative and "make it differently every time".

Season with oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsely, salt pepper, paprika, etc, etc, etc. in any combination. Use fresh if you have it, dried if you don't. Season to taste. You can also add chopped red or green bell pepper, sliced mushrooms, browned ground beef, cooked meatballs, etc.

You can serve it over spaghetti, fettucine, bow tie, etc. It makes a great base for lasagna and stuffed pasta shells.

It freezes well. I freeze it in regular quart-sized freezer bags which I lay flat. Then I can break off small amounts to baste on broiled chicken breasts.

Or after breaking it up and heating it through, I'll add a few frozen meatballs and allow to heat. An easy and fairly quick weeknight dinner.

Last week, I was heating some sauce I had frozen and I also added a used up rind from a Parm wedge in with it. I served the sauce over spaghetti and added a little to a broiled chicken breast with melted Provolone and grated Parm.

Never use green can Parmesan Cheese. That's just nasty. While a little expensive, always use fresh Parmigiano Reggiano. A nice and more affordable alternative is Romano. Either way, grate it as you need it. It's worth the extra cost and effort.

This recipe works great with fresh tomatoes as well.
Experiment. Make it your own. Have fun with it.

My Grandmama always said that "It's a pretty poor cook that doesn't cook to suit themselves".

 

[Cap33]

Whole canned tomatoes taste better than those already chopped. Use your hands to break them down for best results.

And if you can find whole canned San Marzano tomatoes, even better.

 

[jimmyjazz]

I came up with this creamy marinara the other night. It was terrific:

1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes in juice
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 leaves fresh basil
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Salt & black pepper to taste

Saute garlic in olive oil until slightly browned
Add tomatoes & juice, simmer for 15 minutes
Add oregano and chopped basil, simmer for 10 minutes
Blend until smooth
Return to pot, add cream, bring to quick simmer for 2 minutes
Add salt & pepper to taste

 

[miguelito]

I was wondering about alfredo sauce just last night. If anyone has a good recipe for that....

I've made pesto before. It's really easy. I used a blender because I didn't have a food processor, which would have been better.

But basically you take a bunch of fresh basil, some pine nuts, salt, and olive oil, and blend it until the nuts are mostly chopped up pretty good. Just proportion the ingredients to your taste. You could probably also throw some more goodies in there, but that's what I used.

 

[trkhorn]

The San Marzano tomatos will make all the difference in the world for marinara or any tomato-based sauce. Not always easy to find however; best bet is Central Market or an Italian deli/grocery(pretty rare in TX).

FYI San Marzano is a region in Italy where the tomatos are grown, and they are considered the best in the world. There are some knock off San Marzano "style" brands, some OK others not so great. If the label is in Italian, that's a good sign. Central Market carries a brand called "Carmelina" in a yellow can which is excellent(get whole/peeled and crush them w/your hands, discarding any skin/core).

My marinara method is pretty similar to others listed.
Sautee diced onions in good quality olive oil(not too much) on med.hi for about three min; add minced garlic for about 45 sec.(if you burn the garlic, start over); add tomatos and salt, reduce to simmer, after 30 min. or so add black pepper and fresh basil if you have it. Use good pasta(I think DeCecco is the best dried pasta). Put a 1/2 ladle or so of sauce into the empty pasta pot when pasta is finished, return pasta to pot, stir on hi for about 45 sec... this "coats" the pasta. That's it. You'll never go back to a jar sauce.