Homemade Marinara Sauce

I had a sad surprise this weekend. I opened my freezer to grab a quart of tomato sauce only to find I was all out!

Time to make another batch of sauce, so I decided to make Homemade Marinara Sauce!

This time around, I have a nifty new tool to help make my marinara sauce: OXO’s new Illuminating Digital Immersion Blender.

The immersion blender has six digital controls so you can pick the perfect speed for whatever it is you need blended. Just turn the dial at the top of the immersion blender to adjust the speed; a backlit LED indicator clearly shows your speed selection.

To start blending, you just press down on the wide, soft-touch power button located on the top half of the blender. The handle is nonslip, even when hands are wet.

The head is made of nylon, which won’t scratch your bowls or cookware while it blends.

A really nifty spec is the soft-glow LED headlight that illuminates the pot while you blend, which is super helpful when making a large batch of soup or sauce in a tall pot. A softer version of the light remains on the entire time the blender is plugged in for safety.

The immersion blender comes with a measuring beaker with a silicone lid that holds up to 3 cups. You can blend right in the beaker, then top with the lid to store whatever you don’t use immediately.

When finished using the blender, the cord wraps securely around the blender body for tidy, compact storage, great for my small kitchen!

The blender is a super helpful tool when making soups, dips, smoothies, and sauces. I used it to make a smooth marinara sauce made with canned whole plum tomatoes and sauteed carrots, celery and onions.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/3 cup red wine
• 2 (28 oz) cans whole plum tomatoes
• 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• fresh basil, sliced

Roughly chop your onion, garlic, celery and carrots.

Add the olive oil to a large pot over medium-high heat, swirling to coat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.

Add in the celery and carrots and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring.

Add in the tomato paste and the wine. Stir, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon until the wine is mostly evaporated.

Add in the cans of tomato, dried spices, and bay leaf stirring to combine.

Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, turn off the stove. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Blend the tomato mixture using your immersion blender on medium speed.

I like mine pretty smooth but you can blend to your liking.

Sprinkle with sliced fresh basil and serve over pasta.

This sauce is nicely balanced; the sweetness of the carrots mutes some of the acidity of the tomatoes.

The OXO immersion blender really delivered a yummy smooth sauce!

This marinara sauce can be frozen for future meals. If you’d like, you can add meatballs in as well.