Marinara sauce is made in my household weekly. There seems to always be a container of it in the refrigerator. To me, making marinara sauce is as routine as pouring milk into cereal. I barely even considered it a “recipe.” Until I met my husband, I didn’t think making marinara was anything out of the ordinary. When I think about it now, I didn’t eat dinner at many of my friends houses. But the ones that I did, were Italian. I did not see a jar of sauce at their house.
While looking at the contents of Brian’s cupboard in his apartment I noticed packets of powdered sauces. I must say that was rather horrifying. I heard of jarred sauce, but powdered? Then I realized that making marinara sauce is a skill. It is a recipe people look up and follow. Most people do turn to the jar as the quick fix for a meal. Making the sauce fresh is not a quick method. I had taken this for granted all my life.
As a disclaimer, I am not condemning anyone who uses jarred sauce. There are some great ones on the market! I have to say there is something comforting about the smell of browning garlic in oil that is extremely comforting to me. Just as chicken soup is to other people. I know my grandmother makes this, my mother and my sisters any given day. To me, this is more than just a simple sauce. It is now a traditional family comfort food.
My family tends to like a less chunky tomato sauce. So I take the can of tomatoes and run it through the blender for a couple of minutes.
If you are using fresh basil. Add it in at the end. Stir it into the sauce a couple of minutes before serving. I usually will chop up about 3 leaves and add it in!