If you suddenly have a plethora of ripe and too-ripe tomatoes like I do, you may be wondering what you can make with them besides the delicious but perhaps worn out salads and pastas. What started out for me as a recipe for marinara from fresh tomatoes serendipitously became a culinary adventure into bisque-land.
However, if you do just want to make marinara, you can simply stop before adding the cream.
You’re welcome.
I used my beautiful Jaune Flammes and Camp Joy Cherries for this recipe. Since the skins are thin on these varieties, I left them on and chopped whole. If you have thicker-skinned varieties, it is recommended that you blanch and peel them.
Ingredients
- 3 T olive oil
- 1 quart fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- small red onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- couple sprigs of thyme and oregano, chopped
- 1 t salt
- couple dashes of cayenne
- 3 large sprigs of basil, chopped
- 1 T honey or raw sugar (if your tomato sauce is too acidic)
- salt and pepper
- I C cream
- shredded parmesan, for serving
Instructions
- Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until translucent.
- Add shredded carrot and sauté together for about a minute more.
- Add chopped tomatoes, oregano, thyme and salt.
- Simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 2 hours.
- Remove from heat and purée with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Return to heat, add basil, honey or sugar if needed, and salt and cayenne to taste, and heat through. If you’re making marinara, you’re done!
- Stir in cream and heat through, but do not boil. Taste test and season with salt and pepper.
Serve with a generous handful of grated parmesan and a yummy fresh sourdough. Voila!