The Perfect Marinara

The perfect tomato sauce is a relatively simple goal surprisingly .It doesn't take special prep or fancy ingredients.There are no elaborate machines involved, just knives a pot and a wooden spoon., That's it. Stick to this recipe and you have a sauce for life.

Julian Moskin explored this in her Recipe Lab Column in today's New York Times Dining section. She corrals the best Italian cook present, Lidia Bastianich  to help her in this quest. Marinara has undergone some interesting transformations since American GIs brought it back after their tour of duty in Italy  during the Second World War. Most Yanks  think it should be with meat (sorry, that's Bolognese) and have also used it for a base for soups and even stews.Use it for it;s original purpose, over any kind of chunky or thin pasta (more on that in the next paragraph).

Chef Bastianich tells us that a good marinara should have only a few ingredients. The tomatoes , which should be San Marzano, olive oil, basil , a bit of chile pepper and oregano. There should be absolutely no tomato paste and no butter - which was a must according to another great chef.,  the late Marcella Hazan. The tomatoes are the key to the perfect sauce. They should be from the San Marzano region of Southern Italy. This area is in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius and the ash rich soil makes for a sweeter fruit. You can use any other tomato, There are San Marzano strains being raised all over the world and these can be used too.You can use any olive oil and as for the basil, go for smaller leaves which have a sweeter flavor.Use firm white garlic too, to get just the right flavor.A more watery sauce is perfect for thin spaghetti or angel hair.Chunkier sauces call for chunkier pastas such as penne or ziti.
For the perfect pasta dish, start with  the perfect marinara a simple sauce , not fancy but packed full of complex flavors melded together. It's makes for a memorable and classic dinner.