Recipe for Sustainability: Marinara Sauce!!!

Yellow Pear Tomatoes at the Farm

Hello Readers!!

As many of you might be aware, we are well into tomato season. With this time of the year, we have more than our share of sweet, summery, tomato goodness! Tomatoes (solanum lycopersicum) are awesome plants that require little care, produce bountiful amounts of fruit, and usher in the best of summer!

Did you know that at one point in history tomatoes were considered to be a poisonous fruit? This is probably because the plant is related to the deadly Nightshade family. But nowadays we do not fear the tomato, nor should we, as it is packed with Vitamins A, C, E, B6, K, Thiamin, Niacin, Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorous,Lycopenes and Copper. It's also a good source of fiber, Potassium, and Manganese.


There are no shortages of uses for this versatile fruit. Besides being one of Mother Nature's treasure troves of nutrition, it is also really delicious! Whenever I take a bite of a fresh, vine-ripened tomato, I feel like I can taste the hot sun and smell the sweet summer aroma. Unfortunately, tomatoes don't keep over long periods of times, so you have to enjoy the fresh warm weather flavor pretty quickly, else the fruit rots. Or do you?

One way of extending the life and flavors of your tomatoes is to make marinara sauce. Marinara sauce is a basic tomato sauce that dates back about 450 years to Spanish-occupied Italy. No one really knows who invented the sauce but there are two folk theories. The first says that cooks aboard Neapolitan ships invented marinara sauce after Spaniards introduced the tomato to Europe. The sauce is acidic and so could resist spoilage on long voyages. The other theory says that the wives of Neapolitan sailors prepared the sauce upon their return from sea. It doesn't matter who invented it; we just know that it is yummy and we love it!


The recipe below is something that I recently came up with when trying to preserve about 15lbs of tomatoes!
Try it out and tell us what you think in the comments section of this post!
Be warned though: this recipe takes a bit of time, so make sure you have plenty of it.
This recipe is also specifically for canning. If using fresh, leave out the lemon juice.

Makes You Drool Marinara Sauce


Yield: 4-5 quarts
Active work: 2 hours
Total time: 6 hours (give or take)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil
3 lbs of yellow onions chopped (about 3-4 large onions is what I used)
15-20lbs of tomatoes (Eye it)
1 cup of minced garlic ( herb of the gods)
1 bottle of red wine (Try a Malbec)
1/4 cup of sea salt
Tons of black pepper 


1/4 cup dried oregano
2 tablespoons of crushed fennel seed
2 tablespoons of red pepper flakes
2 bell peppers deseeded and chopped.
4 cups of fresh herbs of your choice (parsley, thyme, oregano, basil)
1 ½ cups of bottle lemon juice *

1) In a giant stainless steel pot, begin caramelizing the onions in the olive oil. Heat should be at medium (adjust heat as necessary so you don't burn them). Stir occasionally for 45+ minutes until the onions are a deep caramel color. 

2) During this time, boil the tomatoes 4 at a time in another pot for 2 minutes. Immediately place tomatoes in a large bowl of ice water after removing from boiling water. Remove peels and roughly chop the tomatoes. Don't worry about removing the seeds. They taste good!

3) Uncork bottle of wine to let it breathe. Get a wine glass and pour a bit of wine into it. Give the glass a gentle swirl. Begin drinking. There' not much chopping left. 

4) When the onions are caramelized and smell amazing, throw in your garlic and saute for about two minutes until the garlic begins to turn golden.

5) Add the tons of chopped tomatoes, the rest of the wine, the salt, and the pepper to the onions. Stir it! Take the oregano and crush it between your palms before adding to the pot. 

6) Here comes the long part. Simmer the sauce until it's reduced by a quarter to half. This will take about 3-4 hours. Make sure you stir it every so often. During this time you can nap, process some other vegetables for preservation, or open another bottle of wine :). There is a world of possibility and it's all up to you!

7) After about 3 hours you can begin to sterilize your quart jars. Do it in the dishwasher, it's much quicker. You should also begin to heat up 3 quarts of water in another pot. Make sure you heat your lids in water too so they are clean. 

8) Process the fresh herbs with lemon juice until chopped, about 15-20 seconds in a food processor.

9) Add the herb mixture to the sauce and simmer for about 5 more minutes. 

10) Add a teaspoon of lemon juice to each jar. Fill your sterilized quart jars leaving about half inch of head space. Wipe down the rims, center the lids, and screw on the ring until it's finger tight. Now we're working!

11) Pour the 3 quarts of boiling water into your pressure canner and follow the directions for your specific canner. 

12) Process the jars for 30 minutes at 11psi. This is the amount of time I processed at. You can check the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

13) Turn off the heat, move the canner off the burner, let the pressure completely go down to zero. Also, ensure that no steam is coming out of the canner. It will not be pretty if you don't. Then open the canner, take the jars out using your handy dandy jar lifter, and place them on a towel in a draft-free area. Let them hang out there for 24 hours.

14) Check your jars and make sure they have sealed. If they have, store them in a cool, dark place. If they haven't, well that stinks. Might want to use the sauce asap. 

*Bottled lemon juice only!! The reason: It is a known acidity, unlike fresh lemons or limes. You don't want botulism. 

This is great way to extend your tomatoes well into winter. Try it out and let us know what you think below in the comment section!

-NCSU Agroecology Education Farm Staff