Marinara sauce - one of the most famous gravy - originally from Italy. It was invented by ship chefs several centuries ago, and since then its popularity has only increased. This spicy sauce can be a delicious addition to almost any dish. In addition, this simple gravy is unusually useful and devoid of all kinds of chemical preservatives, unlike store refills.
A little information
Sailors were interested in the versatility of this sauce of juicy ripe tomatoes, which perfectly complemented spaghetti, and seafood, and meat delicacies. Among other things, “Marinara” has another important advantage, which will be appreciated primarily by those who cannot cook too often - we are talking about a rather long shelf life.
All these advantages, collected in one sauce, are in great demand even now, though not only in Italy, but throughout the world. Culinary experts also appreciate this wonderful gravy for its ease of manufacture. Making it with your own hands is completely uncomplicated, while it has an unrivaled taste. Just today, Marinara sauce is for the most part considered an excellent alternative to plain ketchup.
Technology
Traditional dressing is based on fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices and herbs. In addition, there are recipes for "Marinara" sauce, in which capers, olives or olives are present. Tomatoes for cooking gravy can be used as a whole, but it is still desirable to remove the peel. After all, without it, the consistency of the finished sauce will turn out to be more uniform and tender.
For chopping tomatoes, you can use a food processor, a blender or a simple meat grinder with a fine mesh. But even if you do not have such devices, take a closer look at your grater - maybe it is suitable for high-quality grinding of tomatoes. Chopped tomatoes must be boiled together with the remaining components until a thick homogeneous mass is obtained.
Features
If you plan to store Marinara sauce for a long time, then you should add natural preservatives in the form of lemon juice, sugar or salt. Wine is also able to significantly increase the shelf life of gravy, but it is not present in all recipes.
Tomato sauce "Marinara" in perfect harmony with fish, poultry, meat, simple cereals and pasta. In this sauce, you can marinate a delicious barbecue, use it as a dressing for salad, main course or baking. In general, the easy-to-make Marinara sauce will be an excellent addition to any dish, whether it is gourmet pasta or plain boiled rice.
On the shelves, you can easily find many options for this gravy from different manufacturers and with a diverse composition. But why not cook spicy Marinara sauce at home? Simple, reliable instructions with photos will help you cope with this task as easily as possible, quickly and guaranteed a good result.
Cooking secrets
To create culinary masterpieces on the high seas is an almost impossible task; sophisticated treats would hardly be liked by sailors. So it’s not difficult to guess that it’s not difficult to cook the famous Italian gravy. And simple cooking tips will help you in the process. Sauce "Marinara" in fact, even the most inexperienced housewives.
- For the manufacture of piquant gravy in a classic version, it is advisable to pick up fleshy, ripe tomatoes. And for fans of green tomatoes, there are other variations of the sauce.
- It will be much easier to peel the tomatoes from the skin if you make cross-shaped incisions on them and douse the fruits with steep boiling water. Then the vegetables will need to be immediately placed in cold water. Now it will be surprisingly easy to clean.
- Peeled tomatoes are best grated through a sieve. So you prevent seeds from getting into the finished sauce. But kitchen appliances are also great for this purpose. For example, you can use a blender or a meat grinder with a special nozzle.
- The maximum shelf life of the sauce can be achieved if it is properly preserved. For this, sterilized glass jars are suitable. Canned sauce can be stored all year. If you put the finished gravy in an ordinary container, then it can go bad after only 5 days.
- Tomato sauce may burn during cooking. And so that this does not happen, try to constantly stir it. Thick-walled dishes are best for preparing gravy.
- Marinara sauce can be served with fish, meat, noodles and other side dishes. Among other things, it can be used for cooking other treats, for example, for dressing first courses.
Classic Marinara Sauce Recipe
The traditional way to prepare this unsurpassed gravy is unusually simple. It will take you about half an hour and a few simple components to cook it.
Ingredients for Marinara Sauce:
- half a lemon;
- 20 g of sugar;
- 5 cloves of garlic;
- 1.5 kg of tomatoes;
- 50 ml of dry red wine;
- 20 ml of olive oil;
- 10 g of provence herbs;
- salt and red pepper to taste.
Cooking method
Wash the tomatoes and pour over with steep boiling water, and even better, put them in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Then let them cool slightly and peel them. Cut the tomatoes into several slices, removing the stem.
Now you need to turn the tomatoes into mashed potatoes, carefully rubbing them through a sieve or using kitchen appliances. Only one thing is important - the gruel should turn out homogeneous and delicate.
Peel the garlic and chop finely. Heat oil in a saucepan or a small saucepan and send chopped cloves into it. Fry garlic for several minutes.
Now put tomato paste on it. At minimum heat, stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil. Send prepared Provencal herbs and sugar here. Mix the ingredients thoroughly.
Cook the sauce, stirring it all the time, until the necessary consistency is obtained - the mass should turn out to be thick. After achieving the desired effect, pour the wine into the gravy.
Boil the sauce for another 5 minutes, then add freshly squeezed lemon juice into it, squeezing half of the citrus fruit well. Make sure that no bones accidentally fall into the mixture.
After adding the juice, boil the gravy for a few more minutes, salt and pepper it to your taste. It is very important to do this at the final stage of cooking. After all, the sauce is constantly boiled, decreasing in volume, because of which it can turn out to be too salty if you add seasonings at the very beginning.
If you are preparing the sauce in reserve, then pour it into prepared jars. If you plan to serve with some refreshments, then do it right away. That's all, the fragrant, amazingly tasty and piquant sauce is ready. It can be served both hot and cold.
How to make marinara sauce from green tomatoes
This is no less popular recipe for the famous Italian dressing. You can make such a sauce from green or just unripe tomatoes. The taste and shade in this case will be significantly different. This sauce goes well with meat and fish delicacies.
Structure
To make the sauce you will need:
- 2 kg of green tomatoes;
- 5 cloves of garlic;
- 20 ml of olive oil;
- as much sugar;
- 150 g of onion;
- 200 g of carrots;
- 50 ml of lemon juice;
- salt and pepper to taste.
If desired, you can add fresh and dry herbs, various spices and spices to this gravy. For example, Provencal herbs, oregano, thyme, sage and nutmeg will perfectly complement the delicate and at the same time spicy taste of the "Marinara" sauce.
Cooking process
First of all, peel the bulbs and chop them with a small cube. Prepare the carrots and grate on a coarse grater.
Heat the oil in a thick-walled pan or pan, then send chopped vegetables to it to fry. After 8-10 minutes, remove them from the stove, let cool slightly. Chilled vegetable mixture must be turned into mashed potatoes. Best of all, a blender can handle this task.
Wash and peel tomatoes and peels. Then grind them in a meat grinder along with prepared garlic.
Combine the tomato gruel with sautéed vegetables, mix well. Add sugar to this mixture, then transfer it to a pot or saucepan and put on a slow fire. Boil the sauce for half an hour, all the while stirring it.
After the allotted time, add freshly squeezed lemon juice to the gravy, as well as pepper and salt to your taste. Stir all this well, boil for another 5 minutes and remove from the stove.
Allow the cooked sauce to cool a little, then put it in a bowl and serve.