Type | Sauce |
---|---|
Place of origin | Italy |
Serving temperature | Hot over pasta or on a pizza |
Main ingredients | Tomatoes, garlic, onions, basil, oregano |
Variations | Olives, capers |
Marinara sauce is a tomato sauce usually made with tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions. [1] [2] Variations include capers, olives, spices, and a dash of wine. [3] [4] Widely used in Italian-American cuisine, [5] it is known as alla marinara in Italy, where it is typically made with tomatoes, basil, olive oil, garlic and oregano, but also sometimes olives, capers, and salted anchovies. It is used for spaghetti and vermicelli, but also with meat or fish. [6]
The terms should not be confused with spaghetti marinara, a popular dish in Australia, New Zealand, Spain, and South Africa, in which a tomato-based sauce is mixed with fresh seafood. [7] In Italy, a pasta sauce including seafood is more commonly called alla pescatora. [6]
Several folk theories exist as to the origin of this sauce. One version states that cooks aboard Neapolitan ships returning from the Americas invented marinara sauce in the mid-16th century after Spaniards introduced the tomato to Europe. Another theory states this was a sauce prepared by the wives of Neapolitan sailors upon their return from the sea. [8]
Historically, however, the first Italian cookbook to include tomato sauce, [9] Lo Scalco alla Moderna ('The Modern Steward'), was written by Italian chef Antonio Latini and was published in two volumes in 1692 and 1694. Latini served as the Steward of the First Minister to the Spanish Viceroy of Naples. [9] [10] [11] This early tomato sauce was more like a modern tomato salsa.
A sauce similar to Italian-American marinara sauce is known in some areas of central Italy as sugo finto [12] (lit. 'fake sauce').
Media related to Marinara sauce at Wikimedia Commons
Neapolitan sauce, also called Napoli sauce or Napoletana sauce, is the collective name given to various basic tomato-based sauces derived from Italian cuisine, often served over or alongside pasta.
Spaghetti is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta. It is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine. Like other pasta, spaghetti is made of milled wheat, water, and sometimes enriched with vitamins and minerals. Italian spaghetti is typically made from durum-wheat semolina. Usually the pasta is white because refined flour is used, but whole wheat flour may be added. Spaghettoni is a thicker form of spaghetti, while spaghettini is a thinner form. Capellini is a very thin spaghetti, while vermicelli refers to intermediate widths, varying between the United States and Italy.
Tomato sauce can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish, rather than as a condiment. Tomato sauces are common for meat and vegetables, but they are perhaps best known as bases for sauces for Mexican salsas and Italian pasta dishes. Tomatoes have a rich flavor, high water content, soft flesh which breaks down easily, and the right composition to thicken into a sauce when stewed, without the need for thickeners such as roux or masa. All of these qualities make them ideal for simple and appealing sauces.
Carbonara is a pasta dish made with eggs, hard cheese, fatty cured pork, and black pepper. It is typical of the Lazio region of Italy. The dish took its modern form and name in the middle of the 20th century.
Penne alla vodka is a pasta dish made primarily with vodka and penne, usually accompanied with heavy cream, crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce, onions, and sometimes small meats and vegetables such as sausage, pancetta or peas. The alcohol is said to intensify and accentuate flavors in the dish.
Spaghetti alla puttanesca is a pasta dish invented in Naples in the mid-20th century and made typically with tomatoes, olive oil, olives, anchovies, chili peppers, capers and garlic, with vermicelli or spaghetti.
Sofrito, sofregit, soffritto, or refogado, is a basic preparation in Mediterranean, Latin American, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese cooking. It typically consists of aromatic ingredients cut into small pieces and sautéed or braised in cooking oil for a long period of time over a low heat.
Italian-American cuisine is a style of Italian cuisine adapted throughout the United States. Italian-American food has been shaped throughout history by various waves of immigrants and their descendants, called Italian Americans.
Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine consisting of the ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Roman times and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora. Some of these foods were imported from other cultures. Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, maize and sugar beet—the latter introduced in quantity in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known and most appreciated gastronomies worldwide.
Sugo all'amatriciana or alla matriciana, also known as salsa all'amatriciana, is a traditional Italian pasta sauce based on guanciale, pecorino romano cheese, tomato, and, in some variations, onion. Originating from the comune (municipality) of Amatrice, the amatriciana is one of the best known pasta sauces in present-day Roman and Italian cuisine. The Italian government has named it a traditional agro-alimentary product of Lazio and amatriciana tradizionale is registered as a traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) in the EU and the UK.
Spaghetti and meatballs is an Italian-American pasta dish consisting of spaghetti, tomato sauce and meatballs.
Chicken parmesan or chicken parmigiana is a dish that consists of breaded chicken breast covered in tomato sauce and mozzarella, Parmesan, or provolone. Ham or bacon is sometimes added.
Neapolitan cuisine has ancient historical roots that date back to the Greco-Roman period, which was enriched over the centuries by the influence of the different cultures that controlled Naples and its kingdoms, such as that of Aragon and France.
Spaghetti aglio e olio is a pasta dish typical of the Italian city of Naples. It is a typical dish of Neapolitan cuisine and is widely popular. Its popularity can be attributed to it being simple to prepare and the fact that it makes use of inexpensive, readily available ingredients that have long shelf lives in a pantry.
Bolognese sauce, known in Italian as ragù alla bolognese or ragù bolognese, is a meat-based sauce in Italian cuisine, typical of the city of Bologna. It is customarily used to dress tagliatelle al ragù and to prepare lasagne alla bolognese.
The traditional cuisine of Abruzzo is eclectic, drawing on pastoral, mountain, and coastal cuisine. Staples of Abruzzo cuisine include bread, pasta, meat, fish, cheese, and wine. The isolation which has characterized the region for centuries has ensured the independence of its culinary tradition from those of nearby regions. Local cuisine was widely appreciated in a 2013 survey among foreign tourists.
Ragù alla salsiccia is an Italian tomato-based sauce. In Italian cuisine, ragù is a meat-based sauce that is often served with pasta. The primary ingredients in ragù alla salsiccia are tomato purée or chopped tomato and sausage, and additional ingredients used can include onion, shallot, carrot, celery, garlic, olive oil, red wine, rosemary, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Canned chopped tomatoes and canned or bottled marinara sauce can be used to prepare the sauce. The sausage can be crumbled in the sauce's preparation. It may be slow-cooked under low heat for several hours.
Pizza marinara, also known as pizza alla marinara, is a style of pizza in Neapolitan cuisine seasoned with only tomato sauce, extra virgin olive oil, oregano and garlic. It is supposedly the oldest tomato-topped pizza.