Will you mari(nara) me?

From dipping mozzarella sticks, to making a simple pasta and sauce, to a fresh and tasty shrimp parmigiana, a good marinara sauce is always delightful, adds some juiciness to your food, and it makes you want to grab some bread and mop your plate clean. Marinaras are really simple things to make. Basic ones include tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and usually some basil. Your tomatoes provide the substance of marinaras and you can begin with fresh tomatoes, canned peeled tomatoes (usually plum tomatoes), canned diced tomatoes, or canned crushed tomatoes. For marinaras I would suggest keeping your ingredients pretty fresh as that freshness can really come through with so few ingredients and make a real difference (definitely having fresh basil in there is preferred). If you like more of the fresh acidic taste to your marinara then don’t add sugar, but if you want it to have a less intense acidic tomato flavor and be sweeter then add a little sugar. Different people and different recipes also include different amounts of olive oil depending on whether or not you just want it to sauté your garlic or if you want to have more of the olive oil taste in your marinara. Some possible things to add to the marinara include garlic powder, parsley, onions, and red pepper flakes.