Easy Marinara Sauce with Pepperoni
Try this Easy Marinara Sauce with Pepperoni recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Easy Marinara Sauce with Pepperoni recipe, or contribute your own.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp basil dried
- 1 spanish onion peeled and diced
- 2 tsp garlic (approx 3 cloves) minced
- 1 tsp oregano dried
- 1 tsp crushed red peppers (optional) (this will not make
- 1/2 cup red wine (i used a meritage)
- 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (organic preferable)
- 1/2 cup diced pepperoni (i just quartered stacks of pepper then measured)
- 1 12 oz can quartered artichoke hearts (not marinated)
- kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper
- Carbohydrate 0.0834635416666667 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 1.70101916739034 g
- Fiber 0.0552666657393177 g
- Protein 0.017228125 g
- Saturated Fat 0.236380270933258 g
- Serving Size 1 1 cup (2g)
- Sodium 0.0569166666811401 mg
- Sugar 0.0281968759273489 g
- Trans Fat 0.0479447083529303 g
- Calories 15 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat a large, heavy bottom pan over medium high heat. Add in the olive oil. When it shimmers, add in the chopped onion and a good pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes or until the onions are turning translucent.
- Add in the garlic, cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. After a minute, add in the dried spices and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add in the wine. Stirring constantly, allow the wine to cook off for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the Diced Tomatoes, including all the juice from the can. Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 10-12 minutes.
- Add in the artichoke hearts and pepperoni. Stir. Allow to simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Taste, adjust seasoning and taste again.
- Serve hot over your favorite pasta dish!
Operating under strict pantry constraints requires utilizing cured meats and canned tomatoes to build deep complexity without hours of simmering. Rendering diced pepperoni in the initial fat phase forces its encapsulated animal fats and fat-soluble flavor compounds to release directly into the olive oil, coating the base aromatics. Spanish onions and minced garlic then sweat within this seasoned fat matrix, allowing Maillard reactions to proceed efficiently at moderate heat before any moisture is introduced.
Deglazing the pan with red wine introduces organic acids that dissolve browned fond stuck to the bottom of a heavy-bottomed pan while balancing the natural sugars present in the canned diced tomatoes. Dried basil, oregano, and crushed red peppers undergo a brief one-minute bloom in hot oil, which liquefies their essential oils and disperses capsaicin and terpenoids uniformly throughout the sauce base rather than leaving them raw and powdery.
Batch cooking this sauce yields excellent results for long-term preservation because tomato-based sauces freeze remarkably well for up to three months in airtight containers. Freezing pauses microbial activity, though water expansion can slightly disrupt delicate artichoke textures if stored longer than recommended. Portioning the sauce into flat freezer bags maximizes surface area contact, accelerating both the freezing rate and subsequent thawing times.
Reheating requires gentle, low-heat application on the stovetop to prevent the liberated pepperoni fats from breaking emulsion and separating from the aqueous tomato solids. Stirring continuously during the final warming stage ensures heat distributes evenly, reincorporating any separated lipids and returning the sauce to a cohesive, glossy consistency before it meets freshly boiled pasta.
