Best Marinara Sauce

Bogeyman

Bogeyman

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Over here the #1 jarred marinara/spaghetti sauce is Rao's Homemade Marinara. Believe me, it's like a drug as it's so good! The only drawback is it's expensive, approaching $10 USA in some spots. However, since it has only 7 ingredients someone "reverse engineered" it for these inflationary times. By the way, the original is from a NYC Italian restaurant:



 
Bogeyman said:
Over here the #1 jarred marinara/spaghetti sauce is Rao's Homemade Marinara. Believe me, it's like a drug as it's so good! The only drawback is it's expensive, approaching $10 USA in some spots. However, since it has only 7 ingredients someone "reverse engineered" it for these inflationary times. By the way, the original is from a NYC Italian restaurant:



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She seems to be a good instructor. Not everyone is a competent cook and some people when explaining a recipe they move through the steps too quickly.

One thing I would add to her recipe as bizarre as it might sound would be a bit of sugar. Tinned tomatoes can often be too sour, and a tiny bit of sugar will not make it sweet but reduce the sourness of the tinned tomatoes.

For a tomato sauce like that, I think they are pretty versatile for things you can add. At the start, I'd add some bacon if I had some, or Chorizo (or any kind of ground sausage) and some paprika/chilli to add some depth.

Just out of curiousity, how much is a cost of a tin of tomatoes in the States right now? I presume you have a lot of inflation for food and groceries right? It's obscene in the UK in the right now.
 
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Bogeyman said:
Over here the #1 jarred marinara/spaghetti sauce is Rao's Homemade Marinara. Believe me, it's like a drug as it's so good! The only drawback is it's expensive, approaching $10 USA in some spots. However, since it has only 7 ingredients someone "reverse engineered" it for these inflationary times. By the way, the original is from a NYC Italian restaurant:



Click to expand...
That is how I have made spaghetti/pasta sauce for years, even down to the potato masher but I do put a bit of sugar to counteract the acidity. I make loads and freeze in portions.
Good watch and easy to follow for people that don't cook. (y)
 
pjgh said:
Yep! That's Italian-style tomato sauce ... just how I make it, but I also add some honey to take the edge off the tomatoes and don't cook too high a heat as I think that lets the acidity go unchecked. Trick (if you like) is, more oil than you'd think. Tomatoes and fat at the right ratio emulsify quite wonderfully!
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Yes low and slow for the cooking. I use a gas hob and I turn it untill it is just about to switch off with the tiniest flame and the sauce just about Bubbles.
 
That looks really good and so simple. For literally years (35+), I used to order a Pizza Marinara at my local Pizzeria and it was a seafood / shellfish pizza. It's only very recently that I have realised that the Marinara has nothing whatsoever to do with seafood but is a pure tomato sauce; very confusing for me, but there you go!

The only other thing is I now unfortunately cook on ceramic electric hob cooker and I find temperature control extremely difficult. For years I used to cook on a standard electric ring cooker made in 1953 (English Electric 53, I kid you not) and I found that cooker to be far better; but have to move with the times, I suppose!

With my bolognese sauce, I usually make a batch of about 38 potions at a time (use an old army catering pot to knock it up) and then freeze them in plastic bags of twin potions; but that's another issue.
 
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Bogeyman said:
I made a batch last night and not to brag, but it was better than the original it's based upon!! Best spaghetti sauce I have ever eaten!! :love:
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Very good very nice! Did you deviate in any way from the methods set out in the video? Anything noteworthy about your ingredients? I ask the second question partly because I've never worked out my preferences when it comes to olive oil. It's a rabbit hole I've not explored. There is so much connoisseurship around olive oil that I'm daunted. People may tell me not to overthink it, but I suspect olive oil selection would make a large difference with this recipe. Then there's the tomatoes...
 
The onion I bought was a bit too big, so I "winged" it and used about half of it. I used 1/4 cup Extra Virgin olive oil which was plenty. 1 tbsp. of the basil & oregano. Black pepper I "eyeballed" as I have a grinder of sorts. Cento 28 oz. can of peeled tomatoes. I also deviated a bit from her garlic recommendation as I bought a bulb and she recommends "4 to 5" cloves. It didn't seem like she used that much in her heaping tbsp. in the vid so I used one good sized bulb, thinking that I could add more later if needed. That worked out perfect for me (luckily).

As an historical note the British call their canned goods "tinned". Originally however we called these "airtights" back in the 19th century.
 
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