Can You Trust a Marinara in January?

I based the title of this week's blog on one of my favorite books, an oldie but goodie by Vince Staten called "Can You Trust a Tomato in January? The Hidden Life of Groceries Revealed At Last." The book's out of print, but you can still find it.

Meeting Vince Staten is on my bucket list. Among his claims to fame, besides writing numerous illuminating and witty books, are that he's the guy who ran for Homecoming Queen at UT in the 70's wearing a paper bag over his head--and won. You can google it.

Anyway, you cannot trust a "fresh" tomato in January--at least not in Knoxville.  Our local tomatoes are trustworthy & tasty only in summer and early fall. Don't get me started on the offensive, gassed-up tomatoes trucked in from somewhere else. They might look like tomatoes, but they don't taste like them.

So, if it's January, and you need marinara, what's your best bet? Making your own with good quality canned tomatoes? Or buying a commercially-prepared sauce in a jar?

We did a sauce-off in our kitchen to settle this question once & for all. For our taste test, I put the two sauces in ramekins and served them with saltines.

Our test revealed that it is better to make a simple, homemade sauce (the one on the left) with good quality canned San Marzano tomatoes than to buy sauce in a jar, even a well-known, expensive brand like Rao's, which is the one I chose for the test. If you are a fan of another commercially-prepared sauce, call me to set up a sauce-off.

For the homemade sauce, I looked at a lot of marinara recipes & ended up selecting one of the simplest ones--from NYT Cooking--The New York Times.  I made only a couple of tweaks, one out of necessity.

It's a versatile sauce. Tonight I used it in a simple, hearty dish--Baked Chicken Parmesan--but you can use it in anything calling for a simple red sauce.

Below you'll find the recipes for the marinara sauce and the Baked Chicken Parmesan. Let me know what you think of the marinara. What do you do? Do you have a better winter sauce?

THE RECIPES

Winter Marinara Sauce

1 28-oz. can whole San Marzano tomatoes

¼ c. extra-virgin olive oil

7 garlic cloves, peeled and slivered

Pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 large fresh basil sprig, or 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, more to taste

Note: I used basil AND dried oregano. I couldn’t find fresh basil last week, so I used a couple of squirts from a tube. I also added a slice of Parmesan rind cut from the chunk pictured below. The basil in a tube gave the closest approximation to fresh. I wouldn't add dried basil to this sauce. I read about the Parmesan rind in a different recipe & think it was a nice touch. I did not add sugar, which a lot of recipes called for.

Pour tomatoes into a large bowl and crush with your hands. Pour 1 cup water into can and slosh it around to get tomato juices. Reserve. In a large skillet (do not use a deep pot) over medium heat, heat the oil. When it is hot, add garlic. As soon as garlic is sizzling (do not let it brown), add the tomatoes, then the reserved tomato water. Add red pepper flakes, oregano and salt. Stir.

Place basil sprig, including stem, on the surface (like a flower). Let it wilt, then submerge in sauce. Simmer sauce until thickened and oil on surface is a deep orange, about 15 minutes. If using oregano, taste sauce after 10 minutes of simmering, adding more salt and oregano as needed. Discard basil, if using fresh. 

Quick Baked Chicken Parmesan

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 eggs

1 c panko bread crumbs

½ c. grated Parmesan cheese 

2 T.  all-purpose flour 

olive oil for frying 

½ c. or more Marinara sauce, depending on how saucy you like it

½  c. shredded Mozzarella

¼ c. coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees  Place chicken breasts between two sheets of heavy plastic and pound with smooth side of  meat mallet to a thickness of 1/2-inch. Slice in half lengthwise. Season with salt and pepper. Beat eggs in a shallow bowl and set aside. Mix bread crumbs and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese in a separate bowl. Place flour in a sifter or strainer; sprinkle over chicken breasts, evenly coating both sides. Dip flour-coated chicken breast in beaten eggs. Transfer breast to bread crumb mixture, pressing the crumbs into both sides. Repeat for each breast. Set aside breaded chicken breasts for about 15 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Cook chicken until golden, about 2 minutes on each side. Place chicken pieces in a baking dish and top with marinara sauce. Top with Mozzarella  and then Parmesan. Bake until cheese is browned and bubbly, 20 minutes or more. Serve with a side of angel hair pasta & marinara sauce.