Roma Tomato Marinara Sauce

Fresh Roma Tomato Marinara Sauce


This marinara sauce is really good.  It has a nice flavor from the fresh tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar and the fresh basil makes it even better.  Use the best balsamic vinegar and olive oil you can afford and don't cut corners and use dried basil.  Don't use regular tomatoes, Roma tomatoes are more robust and work better for this sauce.  If you just can't bring yourself to peel the tomatoes, you can use a 28 oz can of peeled whole Roma tomatoes.  It's not as good but still makes a great sauce.  Just drain the canned tomatoes, remove as many seeds as possible, and chop them with a food processor.  Lastly you can substitute bacon for the pancetta and Worcestershire sauce for the balsamic vinegar.  It will be more smoky but still delicious.

If you want a more traditional meat sauce you can substitute a pound of Italian sausage for the pancetta.  Slice the sausage into ¼" thick coins and use them as you would the pancetta.

2 oz
 pancetta, diced into ¼" pieces  (you can use bacon if you want a smokier sauce, but trim most of the fat from the bacon)
½ cup
 onion, finely diced
4 cloves
 garlic, finely diced
1 tbl
 olive oil
3½ lbs
 		fresh Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
¾ cup
 red wine
¾ cup water
1 tsp
 balsamic vinegar
½ tsp
 salt
½ tsp
 freshly ground black pepper
½ cup
 basil, cut into a chiffonade

First, peel the Roma tomatoes.  Slice an "X" just through the skin on the end opposite the stem, drop the tomatoes into boiling water for 60 seconds and then scoop the tomatoes out individually and put them in ice water.  The skins will peel right off.

Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan.  Add the pancetta, onion, and garlic, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes or until the pancetta starts to brown and onion is translucent.  Stir in the tomatoes, wine, water, vinegar, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, for at least an hour.  Two hours would be better.  Now check the consistency of the sauce.  If it is not thick enough, keep simmering with the cover off until your sauce is a thick as you like.  Remove from the heat, stir in the basil, and serve.

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