Marinara Sauce

Cooks aboard Napolitan ships invented marinara sauce in the mid-16th century after Spaniards introduced the tomato (a New World vegetable) to Europe. This meat-free sauce was easy to make and resisted spoiling due to the high acid content of tomatoes. This made it ideal for lengthy sea voyages hundreds of years before refrigeration methods were invented. (Wikipedia: Marinara Sauce)

Everyone has their own recipe for Marinara or Spaghetti Sauce.  I picked up a few ideas from my mom's recipe, and my husband's mom's recipe.  I added some touches of my own, and am happy to now share it with all of you.

***

Ground Turkey Marinara Sauce (in a crock pot)

1 Onion, Chopped
10 cloves garlic, minced (more or less depending on how you feel about garlic)
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 package Lean Ground Turkey (1.25 lbs)
1 Red bell pepper, chopped
3-4 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp fennel seed
3 large cans of crushed tomatos
1 small can tomato paste (if the sauce is not thick enough)
salt and pepper to taste

To a crock pot on high heat add onion, garlic, and olive oil.  Sweat the onions (I usually add a little salt to them) stirring occasionally.  Add the ground turkey, stir to break into small pieces.  Add bell pepper, basil, parsley, oregano, fennel, and pepper.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked.
Add the crushed tomatoes, stir and cook on low, stirring occasionally.

Cook down for several hours to get a thicker consistency, or add tomato paste if the sauce is too watery.  Taste, add salt and pepper if needed.  Serve on pasta or use in lasagna or anything else that uses marinara.

This sauce can be made vegan by just removing the ground turkey from the recipe.

***

Tomatoes were originally found only in the New World (South America), but now are eaten freely throughout the world.  Their consumption is believed to benefit the heart among other organs.  They contain lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant.  Preliminary research has shown an inverse correlation between consumption of tomatoes and cancer risk, lycopene has been considered a potential agent for prevention of some types of cancers, particularly prostate cancer. Lycopene has also been shown to improve the skin's ability to protect against harmful UV rays. Tomato consumption has also been associated with decreased risk of breast cancer, head and neck cancers, and might be strongly protective against neurodegenerative diseases (like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s Diseases).
Some tomato varieties are available with double the normal vitamin C, 40 times normal vitamin A, high levels of anthocyanin (resulting in blue tomatoes), and 2 to 4 times the normal amount of lycopene. (Wikipedia: Tomato, Lycopene)