Marinara Sauce

We have a rule at our house that if you open a bottle of wine, you must drink the entire bottle of wine. It's an absolute waste to not finish "great wine." I have a great habit of obeying this rule, and there will be a rare occasion where we can't oblige this rule. Eric & I had enjoyed a fancy filet dinner using port, sabayon using port, and I was pretty much "wined" out after half the bottle or so. I had remembered to save the rest to make this marinara recipe so this beautiful bottle of Hess Alomi would not go to waste. (I love this wine collection for so many reasons, it's the wine we drank on our wedding day, past dating anniversaries, and the winery in Napa is beautiful). The Hess wine was the perfect addition to this fabulous & super-duper easy marinara sauce. I served it on top of my turkey meatballs, and a simple salad. Enjoy!

Marinara Sauce
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. Heat the olive oil in a 3.5 dutch oven or small stockpot. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
2. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper. Cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 15 minutes.

Review: LOVE this marinara sauce, and it went perfectly with my turkey meatball sandwiches. The richness of the wine accentuates the tomatoes and gives it a depth of flavor. I was happy just enjoying the marinara sauce with bread, too. Simple recipes with lots of flavor like this are perfect for days when you don't want to spend all day in the kitchen.