Mamas Marinara Recipes

Steps:

• Cook the garlic and onion in the olive oil in a sauce pot over a medium-low flame, about 10 minutes or until garlic is tender and onions translucent, not brown (this is called"sweating" because it will draw out a lot of moisture and flavor).
• Add the chili flakes to taste.
• Add all the tomato products.
• Pour the chicken stock into one of the 28-oz cans.
• Fill it the rest of the way with water and add that and the sugar to the pot.
• Stir and bring to a simmer.
• Taste and season with salt and cover.
• Simmer the sauce for about 1 hour (the sauce should be fairly thin, but not watery and very smooth).
• Uncover and simmer for 3 minutes if it is too thin for your taste; add a little water if it seems thick.

Steps:

• MAMA'S MARINARA SAUCE.
• Cook the garlic and onion in the olive oil in a sauce pot over a medium-low flame, about 10 minutes or until garlic is tender and onions translucent, not brown (this is called "sweating" because it will draw out a lot of moisture and flavor).
• Add all the tomato products. Pour the chicken stock into one of the 28-ounce cans. Fill it the rest of the way with water and add that and the sugar to the pot. Stir and bring to a simmer. Taste and season with red pepper flakes and salt, and cover. Simmer the sauce for about 1 hour. The sauce should be fairly thin but not watery and very smooth. Uncover and simmer for 3 minutes. If it is too thin for your taste, add a little water if it seems thick.
• MAMA'S MEATBALLS.
• Place the chicken stock, onion, garlic, and parsley in a food processor and purée.
• In a large bowl, combine the puréed stock mix, meat, bread crumbs, eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, red pepper flakes, and salt. Combine with both hands until the mixture is distributed evenly. Do not overmix.
• Put a little olive oil on your hands and form the mixture into balls a little larger than golf balls. They should be about ¼ cup each, though if you prefer bigger or smaller, it will only affect the browning time.
• Pour about ½ inch of olive oil into a straight-sided, 10-inch-wide sauté pan and heat over a medium-high flame. Add the meatballs to the pan (working in batches, if necessary) and brown the meatballs well on all sides. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes.
• While the meatballs are browning, heat the marinara sauce in a stockpot over medium heat. Lift the meatballs out of the sauté pan with a slotted spoon and put them in the marinara sauce. Stir gently. Simmer for one hour.
• Serve with a little extra Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled on top.

Steps:

• Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil into a hot pan over medium-high heat and throw in the garlic and chopped onions and give them a stir.
• Now add the wine (or chicken broth), whisking to deglaze the bottom of the skillet. Cook until the liquid reduces by half.
• Add the crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Toward the end of the cooking process, chop up your fresh parsley and basil and add it to the sauce to taste, stirring to combine.

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan on medium-low heat.
• Add garlic and saute gently for about 2-3 minutes.
• Combine tomato paste and water in the saucepan; blend in tomatoes.
• Add fresh parsley.
• Heat over high heat until sauce begins to boil.
• Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes.
• Add salt and/or pepper, to taste.
• Serve over hot, cooked pasta.
• Or try as a dipping sauce for breadsticks, pizza crust, fried cheese sticks or vegetables.

Steps:

• Place onion, celery and carrot in a food processor and mince fine. You can also minceor grate by hand if you do not have one.
• Heat heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat (ceramic coated dutch ovens work great). Lightly coat bottom of pan with oil. Add above veg mixture, season with salt and pepper. Cook until nicely browned about 15 minutes, stirring often so as not to burn it. Vegetables should be very soft and brown, almost like a paste. Add more oil as needed.
• Add garlic and cook 3-5 more minutes, stirring often so as not to burn garlic.
• Raise heat to med-high to deglaze* pan with red wine. Stir until most of the wine has evaporated and cooked away. (*Just as soon as temp rises to med high, add red wine. It will sizzle and cook down. Stir to loosen up any bits stuck to pan.).
• Add whole tomatoes with their juice. Add bay leaves. Cook til bubbly then lower heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally and simmer uncovered for 1 to 1 1/2 hours to desired consistency. The longer it simmers, the thicker it gets. Crush with a potato masher as it cooks (my preference for a nice chunky marinara) or use an immersion/stick blender for a smoother sauce.
• Stir in fresh herbs at the end of cooking. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed. I actually season throughout the recipe with each new addition.
• *If fresh not available, use any blend of dried italian style herbs but only a fraction of the amount, to taste and add during the last half hour of cooking.