Chuck’s Marinara Sauce

We were at the cabin when I first made this sauce. It was winter, and I used a large can of tomatoes. The following summer I made it with fresh tomatoes from the garden, and it was even better. Some people say that real marinara sauce is made only with garlic, basil, salt and pepper and olive oil. That may be, but I like this recipe.

It has a full rich flavor that is wonderful on pasta or pizza. Give it a try.

INGREDIENTS:

6 medium tomatoes (3 to 3 1/2 inch diameter) or a large can (28 oz.) of diced tomatoes
4 T. olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
1 six-ounce can tomato paste
1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley
1 tsp. dried crushed oregano (or two T. chopped fresh oregano)
1 tsp. dried crushed basil (or two T. chopped fresh basil)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. fennel seed, crushed in mortar
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 T. anchovy paste or two finely chopped anchovy fillets
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine

PROCEDURE:

If using fresh tomatoes, bring a pot of water to boiling. Wash the tomatoes and scald them in the boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds until the skins begin to wrinkle. Remove the tomatoes from the hot water and put them in ice water to cool. Remove the skins and cores and chop the tomatoes medium fine. If you don’t like the seeds, cut the tomatoes into fourths and remove the seeds before chopping.

Peel and mince the garlic and finely dice the onion. Heat the olive oil over low heat in a medium size sauce pan (about 3 or 4 quarts). Add the onion and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another 15 or 20 seconds. Do not allow the onion or garlic to brown.

Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, salt, herbs, spices, anchovy paste and wine. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer the sauce for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours stirring occasionally. Be careful not to scorch the sauce, especially as it begins to thicken. Add a little more wine if the sauce gets thicker than you want.

Serve over your favorite pasta or use it to make a pizza. Offer grated Parmesan cheese at the table.

NOTES: You may be afraid to include the anchovy paste or chopped anchovies, but I guarantee that you will not taste any fish in this recipe. The anchovies add a depth to this sauce that is lacking in most of the commercial sauces you encounter which try to give more flavor by adding more salt and sugar.

You can make a good meat sauce by browning a pound of hamburger seasoned with a little salt and pepper. Drain the meat and stir it into the sauce before serving. Even better, brown a pound of bulk Italian sausage and add it to the sauce.

Rye Buttermilk Pancakes

For the first time last summer, Jerri and I spent a week in San Francisco, California, toured some wineries in the Napa and Sonoma valleys and visited our friends Bob and Jody at their home in Ashland, Oregon. Bob and I had shared an apartment in Madison when we were students at the University of Wisconsin and were still on speaking terms after that experience.

Jody rolls her eyes when Bob and I brag about our dinners at the apartment in Madison, but she got downright nasty when I told her that I had already posted Bob’s Mom’s Hot Dish to “Courage in the Kitchen.” She sneered, “You mean glop, right?” Not wanting to get thrown out of the house, I did not rise to the challenge but felt sorry for someone who could not appreciate real Wisconsin comfort food.

While she does not appreciate our gourmet meals of years past, she does make a wonderful pesto that we enjoyed on perfectly cooked pasta, and she shared the recipe she uses for some delicious pancakes made with rye flour and buttermilk. She got the recipe from a cookbook by Marion Cunningham that she bought when they lived in Oakland while Bob taught at Berkeley.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup buttermilk
1 egg (room temperature)
3 Tbs. butter, melted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup rye flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
 
PROCEDURE:

This recipe works best if all the ingredients are at room temperature. Warm the egg in a dish of hot water for a few minutes, warm the buttermilk and melt the butter in the microwave. Put the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter in a mixing bowl. Stir briskly until the mixture is smooth and blended.
 
Stir the flours, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl so they are well blended. Stir the dry ingredients into the buttermilk mixture. Mix them well, but don’t worry if there are a few small lumps.
 
Heat a skillet or griddle to medium hot. Grease the pan lightly and spoon out about three tablespoons of batter for each pancake. If necessary, spread the batter with the back of the spoon so it is thinned out a little. Cook until a few bubbles break on top.

Turn the pancakes over and brown them on the other side. Serve with plenty of butter and warm maple syrup.
 
NOTES: If the batter seems too stiff, add a little more buttermilk. Unless I am using unsalted butter, I use a scant half teaspoon of salt. This recipe makes about a dozen four inch pancakes. Double the recipe if you need more.

We first had these at home with chokecherry syrup. Wonderful way to enjoy some failed chokecherry jelly.