Marinara Sauce

This is a combination recipe of a lot of really great cook's Marinara Sauce. This works in my kitchen because you process a lot of the chunks out & Matt likes his sauce smooth.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons butter (This is my mom's trick the combo of butter & olive oil is a winner)

1 small yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

1 stalk celery

1 shallot

1 carrot

2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

4 to 6 fresh basil leaves (if you don't have fresh my mom taught me to rehydrate them in a little white wine)

Optional 1/4 cabernet (gives a nice flavor, but don't rehydrate your basil in white wine if you are going to add the red!)

2 dried bay leaves (My Grandma made great marinara, my Grandpa always teased about the bay leaves that she left the window open)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (A pinch of each to taste)

Before you start chop all your vegetables & herbs except the bay leaves.

In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium-high heat add the butter. Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrot and season with salt and pepper. Saute about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and reduce the heat to low. (Add your cabernet here if you like) Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning.
Pour half the sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining sauce.

You can freeze the sauce in Ziploc Freezer Bags. My mom always does this. Even if you need a lot sauce you can add your homemade sauce to store bought to make it nicer.

Buon appetito!