Marinara Sauce

Check out my new gorgeous new dutch oven! For quite some time now I have been pining over Le Creuset dutch ovens, but I could not stomach the price (close to $200!) and there was no way Andy would ever be okay with spending that much on a kitchen gadget. So I finally gave up that dream and found a Lodge dutch oven for $50, that is still pretty and will last forever without the hefty price.

Naturally, I couldn't wait to make something in my new toy, and the obvious choice at the moment was Giada's marinara sauce. I've been wanting to make this for a long time, but I was being picky and did not want to make it unless it was in a shiny new dutch oven:/

As it turns out, I should have made this a long time ago. I may never need to buy jarred tomato sauce again! This is really easy to make, and can be frozen for future use.

Marinara Sauce

Source: adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 small onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup red wine
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 dried bay leave

Directions
In a large pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add wine, stir and let simmer until almost all has evaporated. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste.

(The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.