I'm rating this a 5 because the consistency is perfect; thick enough but not too much so that if one wanted to make a meatsauce out of it, the spoon would not stand up straight in the middle of the pot. Also a 5 star for ease of preparation and ingredients one tends to have on hand. I did have to add 2 more cloves of garlic but I am a garlic lover. 1 clove just did not seem to do it justice. I followed exactly and used a 'Mier's Winecellar white table wine'. I added the 1/2 cup and it was not overpowering. I love to cook w/wines but don't drink it and although I could taste it, it wasn't overpowering. It seemed to enhance the flavor and didn't hinder it. It also is a sweeter sort of wine so thought it would help with that sauce tartness thing we all try to fix. I did have to add 1 Tbsp. of BROWN sugar and that took care of it. **I recently saw on Food Network that if you use BROWN sugar in any redsauce, it helps with that tartness fix better than white.** Thanks for the great recipe. I'm going to let it sit in fridge overnight and make eggplant parm. tomorrow.
Incredible sauce!!! Instead of stewed tomatoes I used crushed tomatoes so there was no need for the food processor. I fried the onions in 3 cloves of minced garlic and added 1 tsp. of dried basil, used 1 Tbsp. of dried parsley instead of fresh, and added 1 Tbsp. of brown sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Other than those additions this was perfect over angel hair pasta and chicken parmesan!
I have made this so, so many times -- and it is phenomenal. I typically make 3x this much (as long as I'm going to all the work!) and then freeze it in family dinner-size portions. I make the following changes (these amounts are for the regular-size recipe, without doing the 3x): add almost 1 tsp. dried basil; use only 1/4 cup white wine; add 1 T. sugar; use canned, diced tomatoes instead of stewed; use only 2 T. olive oil. Although I made it once as just a marinara sauce (and it was excellent as such), I typically make this with meatballs; after forming the meatballs and browning them on all sides in a pan with about 1/2 inch of hot vegetable oil, I drain them and then throw them right into the sauce, where they finish cooking through while the sauce is simmering. Definitely adds a lot of flavor to the sauce. Yummy.
Very nice sauce.
Some tips: For those who enjoy garlic, use 1 1/2 to 2 cloves. I used 3 and that was a bit much!
I added 1/4 tsp of medium-heat red pepper flakes for some heat. Yummy! Use 1/3 less oil. If you cook this in a large sauce pan, skillet or fryer, you'll only need to cook it for 15 minutes, not 30. I added a little extra seasoning - as the other reviewers recommended. I also added 1/2 can of tomato sauce because I wanted more sauce for dipping garlic bread into and for the 1/2 pound of meatballs I made.
Refridgerates/reheats very well. Will make again.
I substituted chicken broth for the white wine. It was quick, easy and very good the first day. But absolutely wonderful if the ingredients get a chance to "marry" in the fridge for a few days. I'm going to make this in bulk, let it "age" then freeze it so I always have some on hand. Delicious!
I usually buy a certain brand of marinara sauce and then freeze it, but I wanted to see if I was getting my money's worth. And now I know that I wasn't! I followed recipe exactly except I added a clove of garlic, a good handful of Italian seasoning, 2 onions that I *accidentally* cooked to almost caramelized. I'll never buy it again!
**On a second note, I've now used the frozen batch, and it freezes great! Now it's five stars.
**On a third note, if you don't know what to do with the leftover wine and you don't drink it, you can freeze it in ice cube trays for the next time you make this.
**My favorite wine with this so far is a Canadian Riesling. I do NOT like it with red, it has a funny flavor.
GREAT SAUCE. If you try no other try this one. Added fresh basil as well as a bit of sugar to counter the acidity of the tomatoes. Simmering too long degrades the flavor.
Awesome easy sauce, easy enough that I don't ever use a sauce from a jar anymore, I always keep all ingredients, in the pantry for a double batch, to go with homemade meatballs. This always gets rave reviews when I serve it. Make sure to use stewed tomatoes, since they have the cooked flavor and the onion and peppers cooked in, just regular canned tomatoes will not have this cooked flavor, which is the key to this having that long cooked flavor, without cooking it all day.
Wow. Great recipe. I used canned crushed tomato's and eliminated the entire food processor step. Added a bay leaf and simmered for half hour and added a tsp of butter at the end to smooth out the acidity. Thanks for the recipe.
This was a decent marinara but it had a bitter taste and the wine flavor was too strong. I felt like I was drinking a glass of wine while eating marinara sauce. Next time I'll use less wine and a little sugar.
