Marinara Sauce

I never used to make good spaghetti sauce. That is until I found this recipe. Its super simple, goes together quickly and there are some successful variations that follow. And chances are good you already have all the ingredients in your pantry. Next time I try this I'm going to use the fresh tomatoes I got in my CSA box.

Its from Veganomicon, one of my favorite cookbooks.

Marinara Sauce
Makes about 5 cups

2 t olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 t dried thyme
1/4 t dried oregano
1/2 t salt
several pinches freshly ground black pepper

Preheat a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the oil and garlic, and saute for about a minute, until fragrant. Do not let it burn. Add the remaining ingredients, cover, and raise the heat a bit to bring it to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 mins, stirring occasionally.

Variations:
Roasted Red Pepper:
Add a chopped roasted redpepper along with the tomaotes. Blend the sauce when done cooking if you like.

Mushroom:
Increase the oil to 1 tablespoon and saute 1 cup of thinly sliced mushroom before ading the garlic.

Roasted Garlic:
Decrease the minced garlic to 2 teaspoons. Add a whole bulb of peeled roasted garlic to the sauce halfway through the cooking process. Blend the sauce when done cooking.

Olive:
Add 1/2 cup of chopped black olives to the sauce about hlafway through the cooking process.

Carmelized onion:
Increase the oil to 1 tablespoon. Sweat 1 cup of finely chopped white or yellow onions for about 15 minutes. To sweat, keep the heat low and cover, stirring every few minutes, the onions should not brown. Uncover and cook for 15 more minutes at higher heat until browned and carmelized. Proceed with the recipe.