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+-- Thread: Great Marinara Sauce (/showthread.php?tid=41914)
Great Marinara Sauce - DFen911 - 11-04-2007
Found this recipe and it was great! I've used it in several different recipes and it freezes pretty good.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chopped yellow onion (about 3 medium)
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 (28-ounce) cans no-salt-added crushed tomatoes
Preparation
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add sugar and next 7 ingredients (through fennel seeds); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in vinegar; cook 30 seconds. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat for 55 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
To store in the freezer: Ladle room-temperature or chilled sauce into plastic containers or zip-top plastic bags. Seal and freeze for up to four months. Consider freezing the sauce in one-cup increments (two servings' worth). That way, you can pull out exactly as much as you want for future meals.
To thaw sauce: Try one of three methods.
1. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Place frozen blocks in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a low simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Place frozen blocks in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave at HIGH one minute at a time, stirring after each increment until thawed.
To boost taste: Long stints in the freezer can dull the taste of tomatoes. To perk up thawed sauce, add one-half teaspoon finely grated lemon rind or one teaspoon balsamic vinegar while reheating.
Yield
About 12 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup)
Escarole, Three Bean, and Roasted Garlic Soup -
Ingredients
1 whole garlic head
1 (15.5-ounce) can Great Northern beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 cups chopped escarole (about 1 pound)
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 cups Basic Marinara
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can pink beans, rinsed and drained
6 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Sage sprigs (optional)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Remove white papery skin from garlic head (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap head in foil. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes; cool 10 minutes. Separate cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Discard skins. Combine garlic pulp and 1/4 cup Great Northern beans; mash with a fork until pastelike. Stir in chopped sage; set aside.
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add escarole to pan; cook 3 minutes or until escarole wilts, stirring frequently. Add remaining Great Northern beans, broth, and next 4 ingredients (through pink beans); bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until escarole is tender. Stir in garlic mixture; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with cheese. Garnish with sage sprigs, if desired.
Yield
6 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups soup and 1 tablespoon cheese)
Re: Great Marinara Sauce - Roxanne 21 - 11-04-2007
Do you think I could sub spinach for the escarole??
that soup sounds really delish!!!
Re: Great Marinara Sauce - MUSICMAKER - 11-04-2007
Spinach gets toooo soft for the soup, Rox.
Re: Great Marinara Sauce - Roxanne 21 - 11-04-2007
What if I put it in the last minute to wilt??
Re: Great Marinara Sauce - cjs - 11-04-2007
lookin' good Denise!
Re: Great Marinara Sauce - MUSICMAKER - 11-04-2007
Can you get your hands on some "Belgian endive"? That is what I would recommend as a sub for the escarole. I have used that when the market is out of escarole or if it looks "bad". It is VERY close in taste and texture to the escarole.
Re: Great Marinara Sauce - labradors - 11-04-2007
How about kale?
Re: Great Marinara Sauce - MUSICMAKER - 11-04-2007
That would work, IF she can get it! Any hearty leafy green that would "stand up" to the soup would work. Spinach just gets too soft.
Re: Great Marinara Sauce - Roxanne 21 - 11-05-2007
Belgian endive is a rare bird here and kale is non-existent---maybe swiss chard??
Re: Great Marinara Sauce - MUSICMAKER - 11-05-2007
If you like swiss chard, try that. You probably could do the spinach as you said, just add it at the end and only long enough to wilt it. Beyond that it will just turn to mush and break apart. It's also strong on flavor and could be tooo much for this particular soup. The escarole is a mild tasting green but just loaded with vitamins and nutrients off the charts! If you can get swiss chard, give that a try. I was trying to think of what else you could try and came up with the aforementioned along with arugula---which you might like because it is peppery, mustard greens (tho soft, too), chinese cabbage or bok choy....but then again, you might have access to some things that we do not...perhaps just check out what's out there next time you go to the market???