Marinara Sauce

Method

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1. Tip the tomatoes and their juice into a bowl and crush them with your hands, or a potato masher, into rough pieces. Pull out any hard cores or bits of skin.

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2. Heat the oil in a wide saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the garlic is pale gold and smells sweet. Do not let it brown.

   Mark done Start 1 min timer

3. Pour in the tomatoes and add the oregano and salt. Bring to a simmer, then cook gently, uncovered, for 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce has thickened and the oil glistens on the surface.

   Mark done Start 25 min timer

4. Taste and adjust the salt, adding the pinch of sugar only if the sauce is sharp. Tear in the basil and cook for 1 minute more.

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5. Toss with 400 g of cooked spaghetti, spoon over pizza dough, or use in baked pasta and parmigiana.

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Chef’s Tips

• Cook the garlic gently in the oil. Browned garlic turns bitter, and nothing added afterwards corrects it.
• Crush whole tomatoes by hand. Tinned chopped tomatoes are treated with calcium chloride and stay firm however long they cook.
• Simmer uncovered so that the sauce reduces. A lid keeps the water in and gives a thin sauce.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

Pairing Suggestions

• Spaghetti
• Meatballs
• Crusty bread

Storage & Reheating

Keep in the fridge up to 5 days. Freeze in portions for 3 months and thaw in the fridge before reheating.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.