5-Minute Marinara Sauce

There’s a whole lot to love about Mediterranean eating. Exhibit A: marinara sauce. This underappreciated staple of Italian cuisine is actually one of the most nutritious sauces you can put on your food, and it’s one of the reasons pizza, when it’s made with the right ingredients, can be a health food. After all, what’s not to like about tomatoes, vegetables, garlic, olive oil, and fresh seasonings? You almost feel healthier just by reading the list of ingredients! Antioxidants and anti-inflammatories abound, topped off by my personal choice for the ultimate medicinal food—olive oil!

Now here’s the beauty part. Ordinarily, the only downside of homemade marinara sauce is the amount of time it takes to make. Usually, you have to simmer it for hours. But not with this recipe. Chef Jeannette has opted for blending the ingredients in a high-power blender or food processor, which cuts the prep time from hours to minutes and produces an incredibly nutrient-rich blended sauce. It’s worth noting that the sauce is essentially raw as opposed to cooked. While a slow-cooked sauce is also wonderfully healthy, most of us don’t get enough raw foods in our diets, and this is a great way to correct that omission!

Notes from the Clean Food Coach

Seeding the tomatoes reduces the total liquid content, which is important because puréed fresh veggies tend to release a lot of water, and you don’t want a runny sauce. You can quarter the tomatoes and push the seeds out with clean hands or scoop them out with a teaspoon.

Toss this fresh, flavor-rich sauce with hot pasta. For a low-carb, nutrient-dense “pasta” meal, pour sauce over lightly steamed veggie “noodles” such as hearts of palm pasta, spiralized zucchini, or roasted spaghetti squash.

For more tomato recipes see Fresh Pick: Tomatoes