garlicky mushroom marinara…with a surprise ingredient

Sunday sauce. I’m typing currently with a rather airy franticness circulating about my brain. I should probably pause and stoop into Child’s Pose for a bit, that usually helps, but so does flinging my energy into serifs.

Our county instilled a curfew starting this past Monday (the 13th). Active hours restricted to 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., except for essential goings about. I’ve felt a bit hopeless lately, to be honest. I don’t enjoy catching news snippets, though we watch every morning a channel of which I overall approve; but the stories always link between broadcasts – how can you avoid that? You can’t, it’s current events, folks – and each time I hear certain happenings, I lose an inch off my faith. The past few days, such has saddened me. Worried me. Usually I can roll my eyes at broadcasts, but sometimes the reports sink their fangs deeply.

So, there. I’m sad and whirly today. But let’s talk about sauce. Pasta sauce, the coziest of cozy.

Homemade pasta sauce requires in components as much or as little as you please. We load ours. J woke me up to stewing my own concoction, and ever since I moved in with him I haven’t purchased a single jar. We don’t cook tomato-based pastas all too often UNLESS we have a batch of our own mix on hand. This is that mix. It takes on subtly varying guises with each new configuration, but we have a steadfast base of ingredients. You easily can succeed with only tomatoes, garlic & onion if that is all you have on hand, but why not instill some pizzazz in the pot? Raid your own fridge and make it a party.

The Key: Mushrooms

A lot of mushrooms. Cook them down significantly to release those meaty juices. The umami flavor permeates the simmering tomatoes and swirls about within luscious, rich pockets of chunky portobella pieces. We use baby bellas, but I’d be interested in shiitake or a combination in future batches. Bellas are easiest to find at a good price in large quantities.

Oh, and I think garlic bread is also an essential with a good pasta dinner. Homemade baguette preferably. I made a simple spread of olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, and salt to smear atop the slices before broiling them to a crispy golden hue. Just a side note.

The Surprise: Celery

At first I didn’t anticipate enjoying celery in my pasta sauce. Like the mushrooms, though, there’s delight in encountering a thick slice of celery among the pool of pomodoros. Just trust me on this one. When simmered and softened, celery flows from slightly acidic and crunchy to lending a sweetness to whatever it touches.

There you go. A few more ingredients and you’re on your way to your best Sunday Sauce yet.

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garlicky mushroom marinara

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I'd go as far as saying the slow simmer is required. The sauce itself takes very little preparation but a lot of patience and downtime. The acidity leaves the tomatoes after 2-3 hours and all of the scents and tastes from the accompanying ingredients burst to life. If you're in a pinch, however, an hour will suffice as a minimum – some time in the fridge will help deepen the profile of any leftovers.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Total Time 7 hours hours

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp minced garlic (fresh or from jar)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 20 oz baby portobella (crimini) mushrooms, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 28oz cans pomodoro tomatoes*
• 4 oz red wine of choice
• 1 tbsp each: dried fennel, dried oregano, dried basil
• 2-3 tsp sugar, or to taste
• salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Heat olive oil and red pepper flakes in a large sauce pot (6-8 quart capacity) over low heat until the flakes release a strong capsaicin aroma – it is unmistakable, sort of fiery yet sweet. At this point, turn the heat to medium.
• Toss onion and garlic into the pot and cook until softened and fragrant, about 5-8 minutes. Add celery and mushrooms and cook until mushrooms have released near all their liquids. For our stove, this took about 15 minutes. The mixture needs to be very wet. Mushrooms contain lots of water! This is where your flavor originates.
• Pour in the wine and cans of tomatoes and add seasonings. Err on the conservative side at first. The longer the sauce simmers, the deeper and more complex the flavors, so you may not need as much in herbs as you think. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring a few times in the process, then lower the heat to low and cover.
• Simmer at least an hour but no more than 6-8. We've found that the sauce becomes extremely thick after about 6 hours and, while doubtlessly delectable, we prefer a bit more pliability in our sauce version. That said, feel free to experiment!

Notes

*You do not have to seek Pomodoro (San Marzano) tomatoes specifically, but if you do be sure the can includes the seal of authenticity. Pomodoros are sweeter and less acidic than the usual plum counterparts. It’s so worth the investment, however, if you wish to try them.