Vegetable Marinara Sauce

Every Chef should have a good marinara sauce in his or her repertoire and every chef probably believes they have the perfect one.  Well, I am about to share what I think is the most perfect Marinara Sauce and why you should try mine!  

If you are a runner, you probably enjoy a good noodle dish with red sauce the night before a long run or race, right?  But this runner happens to love a good Marinara loaded with veggies too!  Remember I am always looking for ways to get in those 6 fistfuls of veggies a day!  So now you can have your bowl of pasta with red sauce and veggies.  How cool is that…not to mention, yummy and healthy!

It’s definitely not as quick to throw together as some of the other tomato sauces you have probably been accustomed to, but the time you invest in making it will be re-paid with a full flavored, more robust sauce that can be used in dozens of different ways.  I happen to love this sauce with a good meatball and a slice of crusty bread.

I love my CSA and supporting local farmers and every year I am happy to purchase an extra tomato share and mushroom share.  Some years I will also splurge and buy a pesto share.  Yum!  Isn’t it great to have a taste of summer all winter long!  Pesto, Mushrooms, and Red Sauce….all perfect tossed with your favorite zoodle or noodle for a fabulous pre-race meal when combined with a good source of lean protein.  Happy Runner.

This sauce also freezes well and the frozen sauce may be stored for up to 3 months.

I happen to love the sounds the jars makes as you remove them from your canner.  “POP POP POP”!  What a lovely sound…sealed and ready for cooling and finally storing.   I hope you’ll try my Vegetable Marinara.  I know you will just love it and feel better about eating that bowl of noodles (zoodles) with a much healthier sauce!

Happy Eating and Happy Running!

VEGETABLE MARINARA SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grouind black pepper, plus more to taste
• 10 pounds or more of peeled, cored, and crushed tomatoes. (I crushed them in my Vita-Mix)
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 medium parmesan rind

DIRECTIONS:

1.  In a large dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and heat for another 5 minutes.
3. Add the celery, carrots, and the 1/2 tsp of each salt and pepper.
4. Sauté until all the vegetables are soft, about 20 more minutes.
5. Add the peeled, cored, and crushed tomatoes, parmesan rind, and bay leaves.
6. Simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 2 to 3 hours.
7. Discard the bay leaves and parmesan rind.
8. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste.
9. Turn off heat and let cool before freezing or fill your jars to prepare for canning.

NOTE:  The sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated.  I made three batches on three different days and than filled my jars after my last batch thickened.