I had some fried Calamari with marinara from one of our local eateries here, and the marinara just about knocked my socks off! It was SOOOOO GOOD!! I went back and got some to go, brought it home and used it to make meatball subs, again, VERY tasty marinara.
I will admit that I have never been a big fan of marinara, and frankly most of what I have had in restaurants has been ho-hum, but not this stuff! So today I set about creating my own (never made marinara before) sauce that emulated the stuff in the restaurant. I wanted 3 main flavors in the flavor profile, I wanted tomatoey, tangy, and sweet, in just about that order. Red pepper optional but I like it with a little zing.. I made this today using 1/2 tsp red pepper, my GF said it was a tad too hot for her, but it was perfect for me. I edited the recipe to 1/4 tsp to cool it down.
Ingredients
1 28oz. can Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes
3 cloves fresh garlic minced
8-12 fresh basil leaves depending on size, chopped
2 tsp dried spicy oregano
½ tsp thyme
12-15 small capers
1 ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Directions
Combine all ingredients in saucepan and simmer over low heat 30mins.
Serve over pasta, breaded cutlet for parmigiana, serve on the side for dipping sauce, broiled fish, it lends itself to anything you want a tomatoey zing to so enjoy! I know I will be making this more often, and if you want to make a larger batch, just double or triple up on the ingredients.
The Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes came from walmart, the FIRST thing you want to do, is to taste the tomatoes, if they are not sweet from the can, they aren't likely to improve or add any significant flavor in the marinara so look for a different brand.