Marinara Sauce (Neapolitan Sauce)
This quick and authentic Neapolitan-style marinara sauce recipe focuses on simplicity and fresh ingredients, capturing the true essence of how tomatoes should taste. Incredibly versatile, this sauce can be used in a variety of dishes besides pasta, such as pizza, chicken or eggplant parmigiana, a stromboli, garlic knot or arancini dipping sauce, stews, soups and eggs in purgatory.
Ingredients
- 2 – 28 oz cans of whole peeled Italian San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand in advance
- 5 tablespoons + of extra virgin olive oil
- 5-6 large cloves of whole garlic, smashed and chopped
- 6-8 or more basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper (optional)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the EVOO in the saucepan on medium heat.
- Add the smashed and chopped garlic cloves into the oil, spreading it around the pan with a wooden spoon. Add a few splashes of water to the saucepan to keep the garlic from burning. Add 2-3 leaves of torn basil and stir.
- Once the garlic starts to turn golden, add the crushed tomatoes.
- When the sauce comes to a nice simmer, add a generous amount of salt and pepper and stir once more. (add crushed red pepper flakes, if desired).
- Cook the sauce for 10-12 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- While the sauce is cooking, bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Boil until pasta is al dente.
- Once the sauce is almost cooked, add more basil and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- When the pasta has almost finished cooking, reserve some water and set aside. Once cooked, add the pasta directly to the saucepan of the marinara sauce. Toss the pasta through, adding about 1/4 cup or more of pasta water to help combine the ingredients, as needed.
- Plate with additional sauce, and top with a dollop or ricotta cheese (if desired) and freshly grated Pecorino or Parmigiano. Top with some more pieces of basil and mangia!
