Marinara Sauce   

“When you strip a sauce down to its bones, only truth remains.”

Marinara Sauce  

Marinara is the simplest red sauce, but simplicity doesn’t mean small. It means precise. Tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, herbs—nothing more, nothing less. Use it for pasta, pizza, eggplant, meatballs, or just spooned onto good bread with a whisper of basil. This is comfort that doesn’t apologize.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3–4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 (28 oz) can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand or lightly blended
  • Salt, to taste
  • Pinch of sugar, only if needed
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional, for warmth)
  • Handful of fresh basil or ½ tsp dried oregano


How The Alchemy Happens

  1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium. Add garlic and cook until just golden—fragrant, not browned.
  2. Add tomatoes carefully (they may splatter). Stir in salt and red pepper flakes.
  3. Let the sauce simmer gently, uncovered, for 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened and rich.
  4. Taste and adjust salt. Add a tiny pinch of sugar only if the tomatoes are too acidic.
  5. Stir in torn basil leaves or dried oregano at the end.
  6. Serve warm. Freeze or refrigerate what’s left—it only gets better the next day.

🔙 Back to the Kitchen

“This isn’t just sauce. This is how home tastes when no one is watching.”