By Matthew Welsch – Executive Chef West Virginia State Parks and Resorts
The winter days can be long, and winter nights cold. ‘Round these parts we might go days without the glint of sunlight, and what little light we do see is wan and feeble. There’s a cure for those winter blues, though, folks! And it’s found in your root cellar.
Nowadays, not everyone has a root cellar like they used to. Canning in the Fall isn’t the family affair is used to be. And honestly, I think we’ve lost something there. There’s nothing more rewarding than planting a seed, tending a plant, harvesting a fruit, and cooking with an ingredient you’ve shepherded from start to finish. A process like that connects us to the earth and to where we came from.
But don’t worry!
Even if you haven’t been canning on your own, even if you don’t keep a root cellar, chances are you’ve got a larder stocked somewhere. Maybe it’s a dusty shelf in your basement, maybe it’s a pantry doing double duty as a broom closet, or maybe it’s on the virtual shelves of our friends over at Appalachian Cellar (appalachiancellar.com).
What’s important is that last year’s sunlight is still within reach.
Nothing captures the summer quite like the humble tomato, and if you’ve never made your own pasta sauce, you’re missing out on so much more than just a meal. Homemade marinara is easy, simple, and way more delicious than anything you’ll find in the grocery store.
Here’s how you do it.
Old School Marinara
Yield: ~1 gallon
8 oz Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
24 oz Yellow Onion, fine dice
32 oz Carrots, peeled, fine dice
6 oz Garlic, thin sliced or minced
6 oz Tomato Paste
196 oz Whole Peeled Tomatoes (7 28 oz cans)
11⁄2 T Kosher Salt, plus more to taste
1 T Dried Oregano
2 t Dried Basil
1 t Red Pepper Flakes
3 ea Bay Leaves
12 oz Dry Red Wine
6 oz Fresh Basil, chiffonade
1 t Lemon Juice
TT Black Pepper
Heat olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-low. I love using an enameled cast iron skillet. Once shimmering, add onions and carrots with a pinch of salt.
Cook 25–30 minutes, stirring often, until carrots are very soft and onions are translucent with slight golden edges.
Carrots are an old-school Appalachian trick to replace the sugar and if you haven’t made your marinara this way, you have to give it a shot.
Add garlic; cook 30–45 seconds until fragrant. Stir in tomato paste; cook 3–5 minutes until brick-red and slightly caramelized.
Now for one of my favorite techniques, deglazing. Deglazing adds liquid to the pot to work up all the tasty brown bits, or fond, that has developed on the bottom and sides of the pot. It adds an amazing depth of flavor. So, we’re going to deglaze with the dry red wine. Use a wooden spoon and scrape the sides and bottom of the pot to work all the fond loose.
Reduce by roughly half. Then add the tomatoes crushing them by hand as you put them in the pot. Pour the juice in, as well.
Add bay leaves, oregano, basil, chili flakes, and salt and bring to a gentle simmer for an hour to an hour and a half. If the sauce gets too thick, you can thin with a little water or stock, but you shouldn’t need to.
Once sauce has thickened and your house smells amazing, remove the bay leaves. You can now keep the sauce chunky or use an immersion blender to puree it as much as you prefer.
At the very end, adjust for salt and pepper, and add a teaspoon or more lemon juice to really make your sauce pop.
This will keep in the fridge for a week, and it freezes great. If you want to really impress, add some fresh basil just prior to serving.
Enjoy this taste of summer!
