If you're looking for a Quick Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes, check out this simple Marinara Sauce Recipe below. We love growing heirloom tomatoes from seed, and then come harvest time, we make batches of this amazing marinara sauce to freeze for winter use. It's great with fresh herbs and garlic from the garden!
Ingredients:
- Homegrown tomatoes (any variety, any amount)
- Basil Leaves, chopped fresh or dried (1 tsp dried)
- Rosemary Sprig
- Oregano, fresh or dried (1 tsp dried)
- Thyme, fresh or dried (1 tsp dried)
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 3-6+ Garlic Cloves
- 1 Onion, chopped
- Red Pepper Flakes (or fresh hot pepper, to taste)
- 1-2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar (to taste)
- 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Honey or Maple Syrup (optional)
Directions:
Core and chop tomatoes into big chunks (peel if desired*, or if you don't want to peel them, we like to use a food processor at the end to blend and chop skins for better consistency). Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat, cook onion until softened, then add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaf, red pepper, honey/maple syrup, and herbs. Use as much fresh herbs as desired! We usually just float a sprig of rosemary on top to let it steam it's flavors out and remove the sprig and bay leaf when done.
Bring to a boil, then simmer mixture for 30 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar at the end. If you didn't peel the tomatoes, you can also let the sauce cool and then blend it in a blender or food processor until smooth.
*We prefer to do this over peeling as peeling isn't easy (boiling tomatoes quickly, then dunking in ice-cold water and peeling). Plus we figure the marinara sauce has more vitamins if we leave the skins on! Then we either serve immediately, freeze the extra sauce, or refrigerate and use the marinara sauce within a few days.
You can also roast the tomatoes in a roasting dish in the oven for an hour at 350˚F. Roasting also gives the marinara sauce exceptional flavor!
