Quick Tomato Marinara Sauce

Marinara is a quickly made Italian-American tomato sauce. When pureed, it makes a great pizza sauce. Because it’s made on the fly, canned tomatoes are commonly used. For this sauce, buy the best canned tomatoes available, such as San Marzano plum tomatoes. If the tomatoes aren’t very red, ripe, and luscious, add 1⁄2 to 1 teaspoon sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. In Italian, marinara means “mariner’s style.” As you might guess, this thin, freshflavored sauce is good with seafood. Some marinara sauces also include anchovies.

1⁄4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon (10 g) preminced oil-packed garlic
1 can (28 ounces, or 410 g) plum tomatoes in puree
3 tablespoons (12 g) chopped fresh basil or parsley
or 1 teaspoon dried basil or oregano

Salt and ground black pepper Heat the oil in a large skillet or over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Working near the pan, pluck the tomatoes from the can one by one. Grab the firm stem end of each tomato and pinch and pull out the core from the tomato flesh. Discard the core and tear the flesh with your fingers, dropping tomato pieces into pan. Repeat with each tomato. Pour half of the canning liquid into the pan along with 2 tablespoons (8 g) of the basil or parsley (or all of the dried herbs). Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the tomatoes begin to break down, 10 to 15 minutes. For a thicker sauce, crush the tomatoes with a wooden spoon as they cook. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon (4 g) basil or parsley. May be cooled and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months.