Smoky Grilled Marinara Sauce
Take your pasta dishes over the top with this incredibly rich and deeply smoky grilled marinara sauce recipe. Marinara sauce is the classic Italian tomato sauce from Naples but you can amplify the flavors by grilling the tomatoes and other fresh ingredients. The end result is something that is truly special.
Makes. About 8 cups, enough for 8 servings
Takes. 10 minutes prep. About 90 minutes cook time.
Ingredients
4 pounds of ripe tomatoes
4 tablespoons inexpensive olive oil
1 small onion
1 carrot
2 stalks of celery, leaves removed
3 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoon Morton’s coarse kosher salt a
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
About the herbs. You can use fresh herbs if you wish. Just double the quantity since fresh herbs are mostly water. The rule of thumb is triple the quantity, but play it safe and just double it. Some purists will argue that marinara doesn't have oregano, that only pizza sauce has oregano. I like oregano. So there.
Optional mix-ins. While the whole shebang is in the pan, amp it up a notch with a pinch of red pepper flakes or chipotle powder. If you have some pesto, add a teaspoon.
Indoor version. I have made this dish successfully on a grill pan indoors. Not as good as outdoors, but better than the old saucepan standard.
Method
1) Fire up. Preheat the grill to medium hot and when it is ready, clean the grates thoroughly. Clean grates are very important for this recipe. Get some smoke started by putting some dry wood chips on the heat source.
2) Prep. Slice the tomatoes crosswise. Peel and slice the onion in half crosswise. Peel the carrot. Mince the garlic.
3) Paint the cut sides of the tomatoes lightly with oil.
4) Cook. Put the tomatoes on the grates in direct heat, cut end down for 5 to 10 minutes with the lid down or until they start to get some dark grill marks. Then roll them over and grill the skin side. Don't worry if they blacken a bit on the skin side. Remove them and let them cool until you can handle them. While the tomatoes are cooking, put the onion, carrot, and celery on the grill and roll them around until well marked. The tomato skins should slip off pretty easily when they cool off enough so you can handle them. When the other veggies are cool, chop them fine.
5) In a 2 quart pot or large frying pan warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add everything except the tomatoes and cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so they don't stick. If they stick you can deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine or water and by scrubbing the pan with a wooden spoon.
6) Add the tomatoes to the pan, turn the heat to medium low, and simmer uncovered for about 1 hour. If it gets too thick add water.
7) Serve. Remove the bay leaf, taste and adjust the seasonings. If it is too acidic, you can add up to 2 teaspoons of sugar to balance it. You're done. The result is lumpy with those flavorful fire roasted veggies, and that's just the way it is. If you don't like that, you can puree it in a blender or food processor or with a stick blender and strain it. Now pour your sauce over pasta, use it on pizza, in grilled eggplant parm, or on just about anything except ice cream.
If you use it on pasta, a drizzle of really good fresh extra virgin olive oil on top gives it a nice boost. Or real Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Or a heaping teaspoon of pesto, or 1/4 cup of cream, or 2 tablespoons of fresh chevre cheese, or meatballs, Italian sausage, or...
SMOKED TOMATO SOUP
Makes. About 5 cups
Preparation time. 30 minutes total prep. 90 minutes total cook time for the marinara sauce base.
Ingredients
6 cups of Fired Up Marvelous Marinara Sauce (a double batch)
1 1/2 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional. Sometimes I like to add one smoked red bell pepper before blending. You can use chicken or vegetable stock instead of some of the milk. If you wish stir in some hot pepper sauce.
Garnishes. Sometimes I like to garnish my tomato soup with a dollop of sour cream or mascarpone cheese in the center, some thinly sliced (julienned) fresh basil leaves, croutons or tortilla chips, bacon bits, minced jalapeño, or leftover grilled corn. A favorite is skinned, seeded, diced raw cucumber. I once had tomato soup in a restaurant with toasted salted pumpkin seeds. Spectacular.
Method
1) Start with a double batch of my Fired Up Marvelous Marinara Sauce. For this recipe, I like to smoke the tomatoes, celery, onions, carrots, and garlic for 30 minutes at about 225°F. Do not oversmoke!
2) When the sauce has cooled to room temp, run it through the food processor for about a minute, pureeing it into a thick slush, or use a stick blender to slushify it. Then pour it into a strainer and press it through the mesh with a ladle or big spoon. Keep pressing until you've gotten as much of the precious liquid possible. Scrape the outside of the strainer.
3) You will have about half the volume you started with, but it will be very thick, concentrated, and a bit grainy, so cut it with the milk, 2 parts tomato mix to 1 part milk. You can use cream, but the extra richness isn't necessary. I use 2% or whole milk and it is still fabulous. Stir. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, and add a squirt of hot sauce if you wish.
4) You can serve it hot or cold. To serve it hot, warm it in a pan, divide, and then garnish. To serve cold, chill in the fridge for at least an hour and then divide and garnish.
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