What makes marinara sauce?

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drcrappants

Assistant Cook
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
10
I've been making a chili and have been hoping to just pour some of that over some noodles as a semi-spaghetti sauce. It definitely does not taste like general marinara. In it i basically just use ground beef, beans, and diced tomatoes. sometimes onions and garlic. And i toss in some chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt pepper and cumin if i have it. Marinara sauce seems to just be diced tomatoes, no? So what am I missing here? just basing off the looks of those canned spaghetti/marinara sauces in stores, it definitely looks/tastes different. My guesses are either i need to dump a whole lot of oil in there or i need to add different spices?
 
Basic marinara sauce is highly seasoned tomato sauce with onions, garlic and oregano. the name comes from the Italian for "Sailor", as in "Sailor's Sauce", because being a meatless sauce, it "Traveled" well for long periods without spoiling. The spice blend changes from recipe to recipe but almost all I've seen contain the basics I've mentioned. I myself also utilize bay leaf and Romano and Parmesan cheese.

As to your Chili over Pasta- check this out......

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f62/cincinnati-chili-56652.html#post809337
 
As Lucky said it is the spices that change tomato sauce into marinara or chili. The spices he mentioned are good. I also will sometimes add basil to mine. It's the chili powder, cayenne and cumin that make it chili. You can use diced but I always add them to a tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes depending on what I have in the pantry. The crushed tomatoes makes for a bit thicker sauce especially if you add the diced tomatoes. You can still put chili over noodles just don't expect it to taste like spaghetti!
 
The crushed tomatoes makes for a bit thicker sauce especially if you add the diced tomatoes.

What Jabbur said ! I almost always use the diced in the crushed, and if I don't then I'll thicken with a can of tomato paste.
If I'm feeling a little kinky, I'll thin-slice a rib of celery and add it to the mix.
My Mother did this with a carrot as well.
 
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