Merri’s Magic Marinara

Look, I didn’t name it.  But if it fits, it fits.  A sort of magic does happen by just letting these ingredients slowly simmer together over the course of a morning or afternoon.  No one ingredient overwhelms the other.  And while fresh tomatoes out of the garden are always going to be your first choice, this method will even make those supermarket tomatoes turn into some kind of magical sauce.

Just remember, low and slow, just like Kansas City barbecue.

Merri’s Magic Marinara

4-6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1 tablespoon or more olive oil

12 large beefsteak tomatoes, cored and quartered

large handful of fresh oregano stems

large handful of fresh basil stems

generous pinch of coarse kosher salt

appx 1 tsp sugar

Warm the olive oil in a large (12 inch or more) high sided skillet over medium heat and add the smashed garlic.  Warm the garlic until fragrant.

Add all of the tomatoes, the salt, and the sugar, and stir together.

Then add the herbs.

Now it is just about patience.  I make this sauce when I am doing other things around the house and in the kitchen.  How long does it take?  It depends on the tomatoes and how thick you want it.  This sauce took about two hours.  I let it simmer at medium about an hour, then turned it down to medium low for another hour.

Then I picked out the herbs and the biggest chunks of garlic, and used an immersion blender.

I’ve been tweaking this sauce for awhile, and this is it.  This is the one I’m going with from here on out.  It’s a subtle blend of flavors that simply needs nothing else besides pasta and maybe a glass of wine and a nice green salad.