Recipe - Sauces - Marinara

There are many thoughts on the cooking of Marinara. I find the one that I created to be the best that I've tasted anywhere. I say this because I have made and tasted many versions of Marinara and over the years have found that it truly does take fresh ingredients in the right combination to get it right. This recipe however, uses dried herbs and canned tomato's because it is not always feasible to use vine ripe tomato's from Italy and fresh herbs from your own garden. So I wanted to give you a recipe that you can use every day and will be WOWed by it, and so will you friends & family. Here it is....

Gather together...
1 Onion
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 #10 can of Crushed Tomato's (With as few ingredients as possible in it.)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The following herbs in any combination.....
Dried Italian Herbs
Dried Thyme
Fresh Thyme & Oregano

Salt & pepper (preferably Kosher or sea salt)

1 Thick bottomed pot. (6 Qt)
1 Utensil to stir with.
1 Cutting board
1 French knife


Put the pot on the stove and turn the heat to medium, add a puddle of Olive Oil, dice the onion, small dice, and place into pot, smash, peel and chop the garlic add to pot. Open the can and place the tomatoes into the pot. (The oil will heat up by the time you get the onion cut and that will cook by the time you get the garlic ready and then that will be ready by the time you get the can open and pour it in.) Add salt and pepper to taste, a small amount then add more as needed. Adding the herbs is a personal thing a 1/4 to 1/2 cup total of all the herbs, start with a small amount and taste the sauce as you go. Stir it all in. Let cook for a half hour or so.
After I add the herbs and stir them in I add an ingredient that takes the bitter from the tomatoes and adds a little sweet to the sauce. The ingredient that I use is Coke, its a secret ingredient here at home, so it adds a little mystery to it. I know its not a "fresh" ingredient, but it tastes good and you can use other ingredients instead like sugar, honey or baking soda, when you put baking soda in it will froth up because of the acid in the tomatoes.
From this recipe you can make meat sauces, try adding mushrooms, spinach, ricotta or any combination of foods that you like give it a name and have fun.

Meat Sauce...4 parts beef to 1 part pork, (ground)
Mushroom Sauce...cook up a 4 or 5 different mushrooms in olive oil (EVOO) & onion
or try this......caramelised onions & garlic... & Mushroom
4 Cheese
Florentine.....4 cheese and spinach (cooked in onions & EVOO)


RVB