Basil-Packed Marinara Sauce

My local grocery store had beautiful, organic Roma tomatoes this morning so I was inspired to make a light marinara sauce to complement my Almost Guilt-Free Individual Eggplant Parmesan.

The quick recipe calls for a food processor, but if you don’t have this handy kitchen appliance, use a blender or hand-chop the tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ tsp. each salt, pepper, dried basil and sugar
• 8 Roma tomatoes, pureed in the food processor
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Directions

• Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and sauté for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the salt, pepper, dried basil and sugar and cook for 1 more minute.
• While the onion/garlic mixture is cooking, place the tomatoes in a food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds or until mostly liquid with a few small tomato pieces.
• Add the pureed tomatoes to the onion mixture in the saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the fresh basil right before serving.

Make about 3 cups.

Notes: Finished sauce can be cooled, placed in airtight containers and frozen for a month. It can also be refrigerated for 3 days.