Sweet San Marzano

These are the last of the San Marzano tomatoes I harvested from my small garden just before the frost. None survived except for one that was planted in an oak barrel. They have ripened all at the same time.  All came out with different shapes and sizes but always had that distinctive san marzano look. I saved some seeds to plant again this Spring. I stored half of the tomatoes in the freezer for future use and decided to make marinara sauce with the other half.

San Marzano tomatoes are considered to be the best sauce tomatoes in the world by many chefs. It is said to have traveled from Peru to Naples and known to have been planted in volcanic soil near Mt Vesuvius. They are priced tomatoes because its flesh is thicker, less seeds, sweeter and less acidic. In Naples, the San Marzano tomatoes have been designated as the only tomato that can be used for theVera Pizza Napolitana. The canned San Mazsano is often of good quality of the heirloom variety from Italy. It is just as good I have to say. I use them when I don't have the fresh ones. I made some marinara sauce at home and here's how.

I plunge the tomatoes in boiling water for a couple of  minutes just to soften the skin then pass them through a sieve to make the puree. My tomatoes yielded 11 cups. For this I sauteed 4 cloves of garlic and 1 minced onion. I added the pureed tomatoes with 1/4 cup of Italian parsley and a sprig of fresh oregano and boiled the sauce thick. Seasoned it with salt and pepper then simmer stirring often.

If you want your marinara sauce a little thicker, you can simmer it a little longer. You can use this sauce for many of your favorite pasta recipes. I tried it right away in spaghetti with Pecorino Romano and it was great.

Enjoy!