Pasta Sauce Tips Jeff Mauro Learned From His Mom - Tasting Table

"My mom was always about, like when making a red sauce, marinara sauce, it's just like the right amount of garlic and oil, really low. You're just melting it with the dry herbs in there, just kind of sweating all that garlic out while you bloom the herbs."

"[Take your time] and make it a day before. That's the goal. Let the magic, you know. Something magical happens. And Mauro reminds us that making it early really does matter, as low and slow sauces are always better the next day."

"If you follow the advice of Mauro's mom, you are only going to need five things: tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, herbs, and salt. Unless you have freshly picked tomatoes at a time when tomatoes are actually in season, canned tomatoes should always be your choice."

Jeff Mauro, a Food Network star, shares his Italian-American family's approach to making fresh, healthy marinara sauce. The key is using only five simple ingredients: tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, herbs, and salt. Proper technique involves melting garlic gently with dry herbs to bloom their flavors, then cooking the tomato sauce at low temperature for an extended period. Mauro emphasizes that time is a crucial ingredient, and preparing the sauce a day in advance allows flavors to develop and meld together. Canned tomatoes are recommended over fresh unless tomatoes are in season, as quality canned tomatoes are minimally processed and preserved at peak freshness.

Read at Tasting Table