Smoked Tomato Marinara Sauce Recipe
Smoke fresh tomatoes to add an incredible mild smokey flavor to a traditional Tomato Marinara Sauce. This Smoked Sauce an be used for pasta, pizza, lasagna, or meatball sandwiches.
Servings: 4 servings
Cost: $20.00
Ingredients
For the Smoked Tomatoes:
- 8 whole beefsteak tomatoes Any large ripe tomato works
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay Spice seasoning
For the Smoked Tomato Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup red onion, finely diced small onion
- 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- pinch of red chili flakes
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 4 cups smoked tomatoes, (should be the equivalent of all 8 of them, smoked and peeled)
- 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
- 4 whole basil leaves, diced
Instructions
To Smoke the Tomatoes:
- Prep your smoker to 250 degrees.
- Quarter the tomatoes, remove stems, and then toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and old bay seasoning, and place them on a foil lined sheet pan. Smoke them for up to 2 hours or until they look slightly soft and roasted.
- Remove from smoker and peel the skins from the tomatoes while they are still warm. Set aside.
For the Smoked Sauce:
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet set to medium. Add onions and let them cook about 10 minutes until soft and sweet. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, chili flakes, and let cook 1 additional minute.
- Add the red wine and cook 3 more minutes, until the sauce has reduced. Add the tomatoes and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes. Blend the sauce with a hand immersion blender to break up the chunks, or use a potato masher to get to a consistency you like. Taste the sauce and add sugar if it is not sweet enough. This will vary depending on the ripeness of the tomatoes.
- Add basil and stir them in. Just before serving.
Notes
A note on sugar: if using fresh summer tomatoes you will likely not need sugar. I like to make the sauce, and then taste while it's simmering to see if I like the flavor. If you want it a it sweeter consider adding about a tablespoon of sugar, honey, or tomato paste to add some sweet flavor.
Canned Tomatoes: If all you have is canned, then use two 28-ounce cans of whole tomatoes like San Marzano. Open cans, place into a smoker safe dish and smoke for up to two hours, stir once during the 120 minutes. Then follow marinara recipe.