How do you make marinara less watery? (3+ tips)
In this blog post, we will answer the following question: How do you make marinara less watery? MArinara sauce is one of the essential preparations in Italian cuisine. Thanks to it, we can cook pasta, pizzas, and many other specialties. One of the challenges when cooking a marinara sauce is thickening it. How to proceed? Here are a few tips!
How do you make marinara less watery?
There are several simple ways you can make marinara less watery:
- Simmer the sauce – You can recover it only by letting it simmer. If you have time, cook it over low heat until it thickens. Eventually, the sauce will reduce as the water will evaporate. If you are in a hurry, you can cook the sauce over high heat to come to a boil. Be careful; the quantity will decrease! Either way, you’ll enjoy a creamy sauce without changing the taste.
- Add flour – To thicken your marinara sauce, you can also add flour. Be careful, do not add a lot of flour; a tablespoon is enough. Stir it in slowly and, if possible, sift it to avoid the formation of lumps. You can also use cornstarch, which will add extra creaminess to your sauce.
Note that it is also possible to make a roux. That is, you can add a mixture of flour and butter. This is the basis of the bechamel sauce, and it gives an incredible texture to the tomato sauce. For lasagna, great!
- Opt for tomato paste – Don’t want to add flour, starch, or butter? Rest assured. If you wish for your marinara sauce not to be denatured, there are other solutions. You can, for example, mix it with tomato puree. This will make the sauce thicker during cooking, and no one will notice your cunning.
- Last tip: to make a good, thick tomato sauce, you must also choose the right tomatoes. We advise you to turn to Roma, a plum-shaped tomato with firm flesh for a well-flavored sauce. The beef heart and the Marmande are also very suitable for the preparation of sauces. In any case, choose them very ripe, but not too much either.
Other FAQs about Sauces which you may be interested in.
What can I use instead of bechamel sauce?
How much sauce do I need for 1 pound of spaghetti?
How is a marinara sauce made?
The main ingredients of marinara sauce are:
- Two cloves of garlic
- 1 onion
- 1 red pepper
- 1 chili
- 1 glass of white wine
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
- Olive oil
- Salt
We start this seafood sauce by preparing the vegetables. It is a sauce that will have some classic ingredients among its rows; we will peel and mince the garlic, onion, and pepper. In the case of peppers, it can be red or green, depending on the final flavor that we want to give it or our availability.
We add two tablespoons of olive oil and begin to fry the vegetables. We will start with the onion; when it begins to be tender, we will put the garlic and the pepper. The ideal is to prepare this background over low heat, allowing these ingredients’ aroma and flavor to blend perfectly.
We will add white wine to achieve a fruity flavor that perfectly combines all kinds of fish, a delicate and refined white wine that will entirely fall into that unique mixture of flavors.
When the alcohol has evaporated, we add the two tablespoons of tomato paste. We will let them mix and give us that characteristic color and flavor.
We will dissolve the tablespoon of cornstarch in half a glass of water so that you can finish binding the sauce. We can use conventional flour if we do not have this ingredient.
We add it to the sauce while stirring; this last step will take about 5 minutes to achieve the marinara sauce’s desired texture. The flour should be cooked to avoid adding that annoying gritty flavor.
If the sauce is still very liquid, we can add more cornstarch, and if it is too thick, we will add a little more water. Rectify with salt and pepper, and we will have an exquisite marinara sauce ready!
Click here for a delicious marinara sauce with meatballs recipe.
Final tips
Our final tips are for flavoring the marinara sauce and the fantastic ingredient for correcting acidity.
To make your sauce super tasty, don’t forget to add aromatic herbs (basil, thyme), spices (a mixture of 4 spices), garlic, onions, or even celery.
If your marinara sauce is very sour, add one or two lumps of sugar depending on how much sauce you have to neutralize the taste. If you are trying to limit the amount of sugar in your diet, incorporate a carrot (very fresh) or a date in your preparation to rebalance it. If you don’t have this on hand, a spoonful of baking soda will do. This all-purpose powder will also help you correct the acidity of a jam!
If you have any comments, questions, or thoughts you want to share with us, please leave a comment below.
References
Thetakeout.com
Theatlantic.com
Food.com
