Best Homemade Tomato Sauce from Scratch

This fresh marinara (tomato pasta sauce) will change the way you think about homemade Italian marinara sauce! I promise! Just 5 ingredients and fresh tomatoes can make such delicious store-quality high-end Marinara that your friends will poke you for days..... to get recipe!  

Oh Yes!! it is made with just fresh and seasonal ripe roma tomatoes! Read on to know, how?

Well, when I started cooking Italian food at home. The first thing I wanted to learn was to cook Marinara: THE quintessential Italian pasta sauce. For a long time, I remained rigid to my gut-feel: I will not use canned tomatoes.

But, here is a catch!

Let's face it! Raw tomatoes cannot yield that lush, delicious, and flavorful pasta sauce. Thing is, canned tomatoes have concentrated tomato flavor that is MUST for good marinara sauce. Since I decided to not use canned, I learned the technique to blanch the tomatoes and then use in sauce. I have shared recipes for both, How to Blanch and Can Tomatoes and Blanched Tomato Marinara, earlier.

Frankly, I was still finding my marinara lacking that "Italian" taste. So, I switched to canned version one day. Even though, I only use organic and low-sodium canned San Marjano tomatoes....... a thought still haunted me always...... Fresh Tomatoes, Fresh Tomatoes.... 

Being a self taught home cook :), I always watch-out for expert tips by best culinary minds around the world! You know, in every field, you should always keep learning! I'm an addict of food shows on TV! One day, I stumbled upon a channel on TV which was telecasting a Mexican cooking Show! You know, I'm a hard-core fan of Mexican cuisine and needless to say, that day, I did not change channel for a long time!!

I'm sure you thinking..... Italian Tomato Pasta Sauce and Mexican Cuisine!!?? Where is this girl headed?

Well, well, a cooking method is a most valuable asset for any cook and you can learn it from anywhere! And lucky for me, tomatoes are BIG part of both, Mexican and Italian, cuisines!

Host of the show Pati shared an awesome idea to concentrate the flavor of fresh tomatoes with far less effort! Yes friends, she shared her little secret and I just jumped with joy! She told to broil fresh and ripe Roma tomatoes until skin is charred under oven broiler. This not only concentrates the flavor of tomatoes, but also deepens the color, makes tomatoes release juices just like canned tomatoes.

I immediately went to kitchen and broiled few tomatoes. She was so so right! Amazingly, I have been broiling and roasting tomatoes since long..... but, I really never thought to use it for day-to-day cooking.

You know?! When tomatoes are not so ripe and are dull in color... they don't give grace to any gravy..... whether it is Indian Curry, Italian Marinara sauce, or Mexican Sauces...... red and ripe tomatoes are MUST!! The cooking technique I'm sharing today makes any tomato-based gravy extra delicious in flavor!

So, these days, whenever I get fresh tomatoes from store, I broil a batch and keep it refrigerated. Then, for cooking fresh marinara or Indian curries, I just puree and use these juicy and flavor-bomb broiled tomatoes.

I'm sure you guess by now, this fresh tomato marinara has lush red color due to 20 minutes fire-bath under broiler! (If you don't have oven, medium stove flame will also do.)

And believe me, it has very store-bought top-brand's Marinara flavor without any preservatives!!

And guess what? Just and just 5 ingredients to make fresh pasta with fresh sauce, at home! How good does that sound?

So, friends! No matter where you live, have oven or not..... fresh ripe tomatoes or not... with this recipe you can enjoy a rustic Italian pasta with Pasta Sauce made at home... as delicious as high quality Store Bought!!