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1
Slice or dice onions according to preference.
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2
Place 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in large sauce pan and heat over medium.
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3
Add onions and saute.
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4
While onions are cooking mince garlic.
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5
Add the minced garlic when the onions appear to be beginning to brown.
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6
Saute for an addition 2 minutes just to let the garlic cook a little.
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7
Dont let the garlic cook too long or it will burn.
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8
Remove the pan from heat.
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9
Add crushed or pureed tomatoes.
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10
Stir together.
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11
Season with salt, pepper, oregano, basil and parsley.
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12
Stir together.
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13
Return sauce pan to heat, and cook on low to medium-low.
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14
Place cover on sauce pan slightly askew, so as to allow some heat and moisture to escape.
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15
Simmer sauce for 2 hours (you can do less than that, but the flavors wont come together as completely).
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16
Stir every 15 to 20 minutes.
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17
If the sauce is bubbling too much reduce heat.
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18
**Variations**
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19
Wine Add about 1/4 cup at the end of the veggie sauteing period.
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20
Cook for another couple of minutes to reduce the wine and cook off the alcohol.
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21
Then add the remaining ingredients.
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22
Meatballs/Sausage add pre-cooked meatballs or Italian sausages after the sauce has been put together.
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23
Allow to simmer with sauce.
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24
This will enhance the flavor of both the meat and the sauce.
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25
Vegetarian add your choice of vegetables (peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, etc) along with the onions at the beginning of the recipe.
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26
Feel free to add the wine, meatballs, sausage, and vegetables all together if you want!
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27
Also, dont be afraid to change or add to the spices as you see fit.
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28
This recipe is just a basic Italian-American marinara sauce, but feel free to improvise!
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29
One other note, the longer you can simmer your sauce the better.
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30
Just imagine an old-school Italian-American grandmother who would start her gravy in preparation for Sunday dinner as soon as church was over.
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31
The longer you can simmer the better the flavor!
