Pasta is one of those foods that I can eat on a regular basis. Especially on a hectic weekday, when everything has been super exhausting, there is nothing like a good bowl of pasta to liven up my spirits. To deal with the hasty pace of a working day, this Marinara Sauce is set to fulfil your dining desires. 

Take an hour off on your weekend, prepare this delicious sauce, bottle it, and refrigerate it for later use. A scrumptious concoction after referring many recipes, this ravishingly red marinara sauce provides for an authentic taste. All you have to do is heat it up and pour it over some boiled pasta. Or just cook some meat separately, add the sauce to it, give it a whisk and pour it over your boiled pasta. 

No more sweating for hours over a hot stove. This Marinara Sauce is your saviour on crazy busy days... 

Ingredients 

1 bottle of tomato paste (250g) 
2 (medium size) tomatoes (optional) 
1 onion medium size 
40g of parsley 
4 cloves of garlic 
1/3 cup of red wine 
2 tbs of honey 
1 tbs of olive oil 
Thyme 
Oregano 
Paprika (hot) 
Sage 

Directions 

Wash, clean and fine dice the onion and garlic, and set it aside. 

Blanch the tomatoes in hot water, once the tomatoes start to peel, scoop it out of the water and set it aside to cool. 

Pour the oil in to a heavy based pan, and place it on a medium low heat. 

Add the garlic in to the pan, and fry. 

Once the garlic starts to turn colour, dump the diced onions in to the pan. 

Add a teaspoon of sage, salt and half teaspoon of pepper to it and sauté. 

When the onions start to turn brown, dump the tomato paste in to the saucepan, and stir. 

Peel the tomatoes, crush it by hand and drop in to the pan. Stir immediately. 

Add two teaspoons of paprika, one teaspoon of thyme and pepper to the tomato, and stir. 

Add three teaspoons of oregano, pour in the wine, stir for few minutes and then cook on a low heat. 

After a few minutes, stir in the honey and let the sauce cook for a minute or two. 

Meanwhile, wash and coarsely chop the parsley. Dump the chopped parsley in to the sauce, stir and close the saucepan with a lid. 

Let the sauce cook for about 10 – 15 minutes. 

Once the sauce has cooked, take it off the heat and let it cool on its own. 

Disasters, Warnings and Tips 

This Marinara sauce is the bomb. 

The crushed tomatoes are purely optional. It is to make the sauce a little more authentic. 

If you wish for your sauce to be a little more liquid like, a ¼ cup of hot water would help. 

After two years, I actually took a day trip down south. It was super relaxing! 

Pour the cooled sauce in to a clean and dry jar, enclose it and refrigerate it. 

I used MD tomato paste here. 

My girl Bey is pregnant with twins. So cute! 

The wine cuts the acidity of the tomato paste while it evaporates. 

If you wish to refrigerate your sauce for over a week, then skip on the parsley. You can always add it when you’re using it. 

Chuck in a few bay leaves for a powerhouse flavour. But fish it out before bottling it. 

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS by Shazzana Hamid