The One

I once read when you find a perfect recipe version of a staple dish, stick with it.  Don't keep trying to improve it.  Well, ladies and gentlemen, today I have found the one.  Oddly, it isn't even my own creation but it's too good not to share. 

For some time I've been working on perfecting a marinara sauce recipe.  I played around with different additions to sweeten and give it a standout taste.  I tried roasted red peppers then I replaced those with honey before moving onto dates.  I finally stumbled upon carrots. They were perfect, adding just the right amount of sweetness and depth.  But, the recipe still wasn't there yet.  

One day I stumbled across a tomato sauce recipe by Mario Batali in Food & Wine magazine. I was surprised to see that his recipe used carrots to sweet the sauce.  Who would have guessed... Mario Batali an American chef, writer, restaurateur and media personality and myself, mom, wife, worker bee, took a couple cooking classes at Sur La Table, would have the same idea. Of course,he pulled it off a little better than me... this time. 

Today, two things happened that motivated me to try Batali's recipe..... 

I received these unique looking carrots in my Wednesday produce delivery.

  

And, then I noticed the thyme plant in my herb garden is taking over; thanks to an extra wet spring.  

I tried the recipe, it was PERFECT.

For my perfect sauce, I've changed a few of the ingredient amounts but the heart of the recipe is Batali's.  It's really too good not to share......

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 large onion, finely chopped

4-6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/4 cup finely shredded carrot

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

Two 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes with their juices, crushed*

Salt

*I buy whole canned peeled tomatoes and work the whole tomatoes with scissors while still sitting in the juice in the can.  And, then I use a potato masher on any large ones that I see once transferred to the saucepan. 

In a saucepan, heat the oil until shimmering.

Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened and just starting to brown, 10 minutes. 

Add the carrot and thyme and cook, stirring, until softened, 5 minutes. 

Add the tomatoes and their juices and bring to a boil. 

Simmer over moderately low heat, stirring, until thickened and reduced to 5 cups, 30 minutes. 

Season with salt to taste.