Marinara Sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup red wine
40 oz. cherry tomatoes, liquified in food processor
¼ cup basil, chopped
Salt and sugar to taste
Heat the oil and garlic over medium heat in a large skillet and sauté until the garlic begins to color slightly. Add the wine and cook until half the liquid evaporates. Add the tomatoes and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce thickens slightly (about 10 minutes). Season to taste with salt and sugar (the most important step).
Our comments: This is the key ingredient in many of my recipes. The high point of my trip to Italy was my cooking lesson/lunch at Faith Willinger’s house. It was a Korean couple, an Indian couple, Faith and me. We had great wine and a great time. This was the main course. Pure Italian comfort food. Use Latini pasta (www.agferrari.com) and serve it with Brunello La Casa 1995.
Great on pasta:
Bring the salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook for about 3/4 of the cooking time (about 7 minutes). Reserve some of the pasta cooking water. Drain the spaghetti and add it to the Marinara Sauce along with 1 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water. Cook over high heat to amalgamate the pasta and the sauce and to complete the cooking. Add more water if the pasta gets too dry.