Marinara me....

My husband, Lee, if he could, would eat angel hair pasta with marinara every night of his life, and be happy about it. He LOVES pasta. He REALLY loves pasta when he comes home at 1 or 2 am after a gig. It's the epitome of comfort food for him. Before I was married to Lee, I didn't eat much pasta because I always try to keep my carbs at a minimum. But when your husband loves pasta....well....whatcha gonna do?!

So, for the last 5 years (of our marriage) I've been trying different recipes for marinara. None of them really satisfied him. He preferred to buy Rao's (which is the BEST jarred sauce you will EVER buy....trust me on this one. Do a google search on Rao's and you will see that NOBODY can make a reservation - the food is so good that people have tables in their names and never give them up. The closest you will ever get to Rao's is the one in Vegas. I encourage you to go there. It is an EXACT replica of the one in New York, down to the very pictures on the walls, not to mention the recipes).

Anyway.....after many attempts, one night I made a sauce that Lee lost his mind over and insisted I write down because he wanted me to make gallons of it and put it in the freezer so he could eat it at will (I have yet to do that....).

Here's Lee's Favorite Marinara~

1/4 C olive oil
2 small yellow onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
2-3 small squeezes of anchovy paste (from a tube)
10 leaves of fresh basil, minced
1 can of Cento (no substitutes!) tomatoes, squished by hand into pan
1/8 tsp sugar
swirl of olive oil

In a large pan, over medium heat, cook the onions in olive oil until translucent and soft, about 5-8 minutes.  Add garlic and turn heat to low.  Season with salt and pepper, add red pepper, anchovy paste and basil leaves.
Cook about 10 minutes.

Add tomatoes and sugar.
Continue cooking on low for about 20 minutes. Add a swirl of olive oil to finish (If desired. Personally, I LOVE olive oil).

At this point, you can leave it a bit "chunky" or you can whip out your handy dandy immersion blender and make it smooth. It's up to you. Either way, the flavor is divine.

Serve over your favorite pasta. Enjoy!

mmmmm......the marinara!