I've been working on figuring out how to make a marinara sauce from scratch. I've been running into problems, mostly that the sauce is either too light in flavor or not spiced correctly, so I'll see if I can elicit some comment and see what others might suggest. Here's what I've done so far:
Stuff:
- ~8 tomatoes (this last attempt I've mixed half roma, half "other")
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, minced
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/2 pound ground bison (or beef)
- 1/4-1/2 cup wine
To do:
- Heat oil until shimmering and slightly smoking
- Add onion and garlic, saute until translucent
- Add meat and brown
- Add remaining ingredients
- Bring to a simmer
- Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for an hour or so
This last time I added about 2 tsp tomato paste to strength the tomato flavor. I thin I'm skimping on the spices, perhaps, or using the wrong ones. Suggestions?
For some reason, I just noticed the link to your food blog - I hope you don't mind me taking a peek around.
ReplyDeleteYou could possibly use a potato ricer to puree (roughly) the tomatoes. I'm fairly certain that the seeds of a tomato can add a bitter taste to your sauce and, perhaps, that is hiding the spices? Or, adding a little sugar can garner the same effect.
I would also add a little salt to the recipe as well. Kosher or sea salt would be ideal and probably during the cooking process as salt can enhance the flavor of other ingredients without overpowering the dish.
I've also seen marjoram, parsley, rosemary and bay leaves included in tomato sauce recipes. I know quite a few people who always use some tomato paste in their recipe - so, it's not uncommon to include it.