Thursday, December 8, 2011

Simple marinara

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion (or 1/3 c dried minced or chopped onion, reconstituted)
1 tsp minced garlic (or 2 garlic cloves)
1 can tomato paste*
1 can diced tomatoes
mushrooms (dehydrated or fresh--canned ones are slimy)
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 sm. can sliced black olives (optional)
1 tsp Italian seasoning blend
1/4 tsp cumin

1. In a small saucepan, heat olive oil to the point that when you drop the onion in, it sizzles, then cook the onions until they're nearly clear, stirring constantly. 2. Add garlic to pan, shaking to spread out evenly, turn burner down to medium heat, cook for a couple minutes while you open cans. 3. Add tomato paste and diced tomatoes, mix well. 4. Add mushrooms, peppers, and seasoning, and turn the burner down to medium low.

On another burner, take a medium-large pot, fill with water, bring to a boil and cook your pasta. (You can do this at the same time as you're making your sauce--or you can start the pasta first) When your pasta is done, drain it, and put it back in the pot. Then, take your sauce and mix into pasta.

I like this because it takes about fifteen minutes to cook, and is good on a variety of pastas, and it's just as easy to brown a bit of hamburger meat or Italian sausage in with the onions for a meat sauce. My kids (both of them) like it over the dry tortellini or mini raviolis you can get at Wal-Mart. Look for the bag that says it has 4-6 servings.

*Open both ends of the tomato paste can, discard one of the ends, then use the other to push the paste out of the can. Tomato paste is thick enough that if you don't do this, you'll have to dirty another utensil getting it scraped out of the can.

6 comments:

  1. A lady after my heart...I'll try it, thank you.

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  2. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you like it as much as we do.

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  3. Cumin and olives in marinara?!!!!
    Die blasphemer die!
    It may be a sauce but it isn't marinara.

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  4. So...leave out the olives and the cumin. I like olives (but Odysseus doesn't, so I usually don't add them), and I add the cumin to bring out the flavor of the tomatoes a bit more.

    No need to get hostile about it.

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  5. *Open both ends of the tomato paste can, discard one of the ends, then use the other to push the paste out of the can. Tomato paste is thick enough that if you don't do this, you'll have to dirty another utensil getting it scraped out of the can.......

    I thought everybody did this!

    I also use to open dog food this way and other messy cans!

    Olives YES...cumin, I'll have to try!

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  6. Forgot: Soon as my pasta is done, I always give it a fast 'stir fry' in butter--really enhances any pasta sauce!

    ReplyDelete

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