Marinara Sauce

By: Kelsie Knerr

This is usually the time of year for tomatoes, but the rain over the past few months has made this growing season a struggle. It is a tradition for my family to make a big batch of marinara sauce each year to stock the freezer and because our garden was a bit of a failure this year I resorted to making a fun day trip to the Amish Community in Clark, Missouri for tomatoes. When I want to make marinara I look for Roma tomatoes because they have a lot of “meat” and less seeds and juice. But I personally think cherry tomatoes are the prettiest. These below are from the Columbia Farmer's Market.

My go-to dishes to use marinara for are pizza or zucchini noodle spaghetti and this weekend I used it in some homemade chili. If you haven’t made sauce before don't be intimidated because it is pretty hard to mess it up. I often adjust the recipe as I go depending on the veggies I have on hand. You'll find this recipe has carrots and zucchini. I like having these veggies for color and sweetness not to mention extra fiber and vitamins! As you can see from the picture below I also make baggies of pesto for stocking the freezer. Seasonal batch cooking can save a lot of time and money and make for a fun weekend activity.

Marinara Sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 whole yellow or white onions

2 whole large carrots, peeled

2 zucchini, peeled and seeded

8 to 10 tomatoes, peeled and seeded (Roma tomatoes work well)

1 small can of tomato paste

5 cloves garlic, minced

Handful of chopped basil

1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, minced, or herbs of your choice (optional)

Dice onions. In food processor, puree carrots. In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

Add the onions and carrots and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Chop or puree the tomatoes (as I de-seed the tomatoes, I give them a little squeeze so the sauce ends up thicker and has less juice), depending on the desired consistency you want. Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste to the pot and stir.

Puree the zucchini and add to vegetables in the pot. Add salt, pepper, basil, Worcestershire sauce and oregano.

Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Adjust seasonings to taste. After cooling, store in freezer bags for 6 months to a year.