One of My Favorites! Marinara: Basic and with Variations

I know I have said this before, but pasta is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. It never gets old for me. Mmmmm.

So, when I saw that my beloved Everyday Food Magazine (in its very last issue ever, sniff, sniff) had a recipe for Basic Marinara sauce that could then be changed into four other kinds of pasta sauce by adding different ingredient combinations, I was intrigued. It was especially handy because it used canned whole peeled tomatoes and I had a ton of them in my food storage. So, over the course of about a month, I made about 1 different kind of pasta sauce each week. I loved them all! They were soooo good!

You can never go wrong with this good, Basic Marinara. I loved that recipe. The Mushroom Sauce and Puttanesca were tied as my favorites, with the Amatriciana sauce (and Basic Marinara) following closely on their heels. The Meat Sauce was my least favorite of the bunch...not because it wasn't delicious (which it was), but because I have had meat sauces that I have liked better.

Just one note in regards to the recipe, it suggests using 3/4 pound cooked pasta, and that all this sauce and 3/4 pounds of pasta serves only 4 people. I don't agree with that. I always cook a whole pound of pasta and it feeds between 6-8 people (depending on what you serve along with the pasta. If you have a nice salad and some crusty bread, a pound of spaghetti will definitely feed 6 adults, and possibly even 8 adults).

Serve these sauces over your favorite pastas: spaghetti, linguine, angel hair, farfalle, penne, rigatone, gnocchi...the sky is the limit!

Anyway, on with the show!

Basic Marinara

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
3 gloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
salt and pepper
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, pureed

Directions:

In a large saucepan, heat oil and garlic over medium until fragrant. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is very soft, 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce to a rapid simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with 3/4 pound cooked pasta.

Serves 4

Nutrition information per serving (without pasta): 179 calories, 14 g fat, 2 g protein, 11 g carb, 2 g fiber.

Notes: This was really good, and very kid friendly.

Variations:

Meat Sauce

Ingredients (in addition to the ingredients listed above for the Basic Marinara):

1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrot
1 pound ground beef


Directions:

Add 1/2 cup each diced celery and carrot with onion. When vegetables are soft, add 1 pound ground beef and cook until just cooked through, 8 minutes. Add pureed tomatoes and follow the Basic Marinara recipe from there.

Nutrition information per serving: 390 calories, 25 g fat, 25 g protein, 13 g carb, 3 g fiber.

Notes: My husband really, really liked this sauce. As I mentioned, I liked it too, but I felt it wasn't quite as good as some of the other meat sauces I have tried and posted on this blog. However, I love how basic this one is...it is definitely a good recipe to have on hand.

Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients (in addition to the ingredients listed above for the Basic Marinara):

1 pound quartered cremini mushrooms (I used button mushrooms)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup dry white wine, optional (I didn't use this)
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions:

Once onion is soft, add 1 pound quartered cremini mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme and saute over medium-high until browned, 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup dry white wine, if using, and cook until evaporated. Add pureed tomatoes and follow the Basic Marinara recipe from there. Serve topped with fresh parsley.

Nutrition information per serving: 234 calories, 14 g fat, 5 g protein, 16 g carb, 3 g fiber.

Notes: As mentioned above, I used button mushrooms instead of cremini (they were on sale). I used ground dried thyme instead of regular dried thyme because I was out, and I skipped the white wine. FANTASTIC!

Puttanesca

Ingredients (in addition to the ingredients listed above for the Basic Marinara):

3 anchovies
3 tablespoons capers
1/2 cup quartered pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Directions:

Once onion is soft, add 3 anchovies, 3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained, 1/2 cup quartered pitted Kalamata olives, and 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes and cook 1 minute, crushing anchovies with a spoon. Add pureed tomatoes and follow the Basic Marinara recipe from there.

Nutrition information per serving: 235 calories, 18 g fat, 3 g protein, 13 g carb, 2 g fiber.

Notes: Oh my goodness, I loved this. I had never used anchovies in my cooking before (you will find them by the tuna fish in the grocery store). This was so flavorful. It reminded me a little of the Barilla Green Olive Marinara sauce that is super hard to find (one of my favorites). However, since this was homemade, it was even better than the Barilla sauce! Yum! I still have some anchovies, capers, and Kalamata olives...maybe I'll have to make this again next week! Especially since my picture didn't turn out that great and doesn't do it justice.

In regards to my picture and the flavorful sauce, I would suggest tossing this sauce with the pasta as opposed to simply putting the sauce on top of the pasta. It will go further and you won't miss out on any flavor.

Amatriciana

Ingredients (in addition to the ingredients listed above for the Basic Marinara):

4 ounces diced bacon (about 4 slices)
3/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano (Parmesan cheese can be substituted)

Directions:

Once onion is soft, add 4 ounces diced bacon and 3/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes; cook until bacon is crisp, about 8 minutes. Add pureed tomatoes and follow the Basic Marinara recipe from there. Serve topped with 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano.

Nutrition information per serving: 419 calories, 34 g fat, 14 g protein; 12 g carb, 2 g fiber.

Notes: This had such a yummy, smoky flavor because of the bacon. I thought this sauce was even better after a day or two in the fridge. I pretty much devoured the leftovers for lunch. Yum!