Marinara Dip with Focaccia 

Marinara Dip with Focaccia

Marinara sauce is a staple in so many meals.  This recipe is my own, everyone makes their own sauce and has their own twist on it. Enjoy it with your favorite pasta, as a dip for focaccia, parmesan sticks, chicken parmesan, eggplant parmesan or just go ahead and eat it with a spoon. All ways are acceptable. A fond memory is Grandma making sauce for Sunday night family dinners. Someone would always try sneaking a dip of bread and sauce while she "isn't looking", although I'm pretty sure she saw it every time. Sneaking a dip of sauce is what made it extra good! Although Grandma's recipe is kept in a secret family vault, you can enjoy this similar style sauce as much as you want. 

There are several ways to go about making this: canned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, a mix of both, and with or without the wine. The wine really adds a dimension of flavor but not everyone likes cooking with alcohol. Your preference: it can be made with or without. Leftovers are always great with this recipe and letting it sit in the fridge melds the flavors- its best to eat it the next day or even a few days after you make it. It also freezes super well, just put in a freezable container or even a Ziploc and put it in your freezer until you want to use it. Thaw it on the counter or in the fridge. 

You can add ground beef, steak bits or cooked chicken to this recipe. If using raw ground beef, sausage or chicken, cook it up with the onions and garlic before adding the sauce to simmer- you want to make sure it is thoroughly cooked before serving. Rotisserie chicken or grilled chicken is great. Sausage or ground beef work well in this recipe also. I've honestly even used bacon because let's face it, bacon is good in everything.  

I cook this all-in-one pot to get all the delicious flavors- it's all about the order you cook the ingredients! 

Serves 2 -4 people depending on how much sauce you want per serving. There may or may not be leftovers. 

Ingredients: 

• For fresh tomatoes use 6-8 Roma tomatoes, diced. For canned tomatoes use 2 cans of diced tomatoes and 2 cans of tomato sauce

• 1 or 1/2 onion- depending on how much onion you like- finely diced. 

• 4 garlic cloves or 1 tablespoon of powder. You can cut this in half if you aren't a garlic lover like me. 

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil- this is dependent on what meat you are using. If you are using beef or sausage, then you can leave it out completely or use 1/2 tablespoon. The meat adds enough oil to the sauce if you don't drain it. Chicken requires a little bit of olive oil still. 

• 1/2 cup - 1 cup of fresh basil OR 1 tablespoon dried basil. (If you want more oregano flavor and less basil flavor then adjust to 1/2 tablespoon basil and 1 tablespoon oregano)

• 1/3 cup sliced fresh oregano OR 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano. (If you want more oregano flavor then adjust to 1 tablespoon oregano and 1/2 tablespoon basil) 

• 1/ 2 cup -1 cup any kind of wine. White wine or red wine work great. White wine is milder to cook with, but a red wine adds a great richness to this sauce. When deciding how much to use, keep in mind the simmer time takes longer when you use more mine to cook off any alcohol and get that deep rich taste. You can use leftover wine you have or use a wine you are drinking with dinner to keep the flavor profile consistent. 

• 1 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock. This stretches the sauce and also adds to the deep flavor. 

• 1 teaspoon of Sea Salt. 

• optional: chopped spinach. (Hey, you have to slip in vegetables where you can! If you are using fresh spinach, then you can either chop or leave them whole and just put them in while simmering as they will wilt perfectly and not overcook. Drain thawed previously frozen spinach super well to avoid making the sauce watery) 

• Parmesan for topping  

Directions: 

1. In a large pot, sauté the onions, meat if you are using meat, and the garlic. 

2. When done 3/4 of the way and the onion is translucent or just about, add your chopped tomato or cans of tomato, herbs, wine if using and stock. Let it simmer for 15 minutes on low. Then add your spinach and cover the pot, to let it wilt. Mix in after it is wilted, about 2-5 minutes. If you are using previously frozen spinach, then just mix it in. The simmer time is really dependent on how long you want to take to cook it. The flavors deepen as it simmers but make sure it is on low heat, so nothing burns. Stir occasionally. 

3. Let it cool if you are storing it for later. If not, then spoon into a bowl and serve with toasted or un-toasted focaccia bread.