Marinara

This is, hands down, one of my family’s favorite dinners.  I can’t claim any credit for this recipe; the changes I have made in the original are minimal.  I first found it on the back of an American Beauty bag of trio pasta (the one with three different pasta shapes in it).  The recipe is really simple and fast and the flavors are so good that even my Italian brother in-law gives this dish a two thumbs up.

I don’t use the trio pasta anymore. I prefer to use fusilli (spiral shaped), mostly because it holds the sauce and adds just the right amount of pasta in each bite.

Print Recipe

Marinara

This simple meatless pasta dish will have dinner on the table in 30 minutes. The tomato sauce is rich, full of herbs, onion, and garlic. Be sure to get the cheese nice and toasty on top.

Prep Time7 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time37 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 6

Author: Terri @ that's some good cookin'

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup ¼cup olive or vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, medium dice
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 15 ounce cans chopped tomatoes, undrained
• 1/4 cup chopped, fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 4 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
• 1 package (12-16 ounces) dried pasta
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

• Warm a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then the onion. Cook onion until nearly translucent, then add the garlic. Continue to cook, stirring frequently until onion is translucent, but not brown. A salad and some crusty bread goes well with this meal.
• Stir in tomatoes with liquid, parsley, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and sugar. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Don't overcook. Drain well.
• Set oven to broil. Pour the sauce over the pasta. Toss together until the sauce is evenly distributed with the pasta. Place in 2 quart casserole or 9- x 13-inch baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese and broil 3 minutes or until cheese is melted and turns golden in some places.

Notes

A salad and some crusty bread goes well with this meal.

As a side note:  One evening I made this dish for my brother in-law and I left it under the broiler for too long.  The cheese got very toasty and dark brown.  I was really embarrassed, but my brother in-law got very excited.  “No, no!  That’s the way it is supposed to look!  Americans don’t cook it long enough.  This is perfect!”  Once my family tasted the browned cheese, they loved it.  The cheese in the above picture is just a golden brown.  I chickened-out on broiling it longer for this post.

Changes that you might want to try:

• You can increase the heartiness of this marinara by adding cooked Italian sausage.  Cook the sausage, then add it to the marinara for the simmering process.
• Make the dish spicier by adding a light sprinkle of dried red pepper flakes.

One more thing:  check out this link for an amazing array of pasta shapes and suggested uses of each shape.