Marinara #2 - Da Super Basil

Circa late 90's when I was working for a very big military insurance company, we got new computers.  For some time there was a debate over whether or not we would get "the Internet" at our work stations.  I say "the Internet" in quotations because back then it was new and curious.  They were worried we would waste our work time "surfing the web".  Us?  No!  Of course not.

Riiighhht.

One of the first videos I ever got was of Super Greg Da Numba One.

Super Greg is of course Sacha Baron Cohen of Ali G & Borat fame.

But back then, nobody knew who he was unless you knew Super Greg.

The original video that I saw had awesomeness of him posing by his rad red sedan...

...oh the memories!

In fact, I named my first post after Super Greg.

He is pure awesomeness people!  At its finest.

Anyway, are you wondering what this has to do with marinara?

So am I.

In honor of Super Greg, I have named Marinara #2 "Da Super Basil".

Cause' it's super and has a lot of basil.

Here we go!

Garlic much?

4-6 cloves depending on how garlicious you are....

mince it...

How about a carrot?

Don't tell The Cyclist.

He thinks it's weird to put carrot in marinara.

Even though it's pretty standard.

And a nice way to add sweetness without adding extra sugar.

Chop it.

Yellow onion?

Yes please!

Chop it.

I had some red onion, so I chopped it up too....

Meanwhile this guy is waiting.
Just waiting.

Waiting for something to drop.

Don't tell his Dad or he'll be busted for being in the kitchen.

Heat up your big ole' sauce pot...

...once it's hot add some olive oil.

3 tablespoons.

BTW, do you like that artsy tablespoon?

Apparently that's what happens when cheap stuff gets too hot in the dishwasher.

Awesome.

Then throw your garlic, onion & carrot in and saute....

I was wondering....

I'm not.

I'm intrigued by them though.

I used Shady Lady tomatoes for this batch because I got a big ole' bag of them for cheap at the Farmer's Market.

*note lone green tomato

I had 2 vine-ripened guys left in my fridge...

...so I used them too.

Surprisingly, those Shady Ladies looked great on the inside...

(is there a lesson here?)

Remember that green tomato from above?

Here is what it looked like on the inside....

I didn't use it.  Not much flava.

Add all your chopped tomatoes to the garlic/onion/carrot mix and cook em' down...

Meanwhile, since it's finally Fall in Northern California,

go and cut all the remaining basil off of your plants....

...it's Da Super Basil, remember?

2 cups of basil leaves....

Add them to your cooking tomatoes....

...while you're at it, you might as well use up the rest of your Dorot basil too.

I had 4 cubes (4 teaspoons) left.

I used it all.

Once everything is nice and cooked down, throw it in the blender...

Viola!

The finished product,

a super hearty super basil marinara....

Yum!
Entire recipe is below and available on Tasty Kitchen.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
4-6 cloves garlic, minced 1 regular sized carrot, chopped 1 small onion, chopped (yellow or red) 3 tablespoons of olive oil 5 tomatoes, chopped (I used 3 shady ladies & 2 vine ripened, it equaled about 6 cups) 2 cups of basil leaves, loosely packed 2 teaspoons sea salt 10 shakes/turns cracked black pepper 1 tablespoon of dry basil 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
How to:
Mince garlic.  Chop onions & carrots.  Chop tomatoes. Heat large saucepan.  Once hot, add olive oil, garlic, onions & carrots.  Saute until soft. Reduce heat to low.  Add tomatoes and cook until they are breaking down. Add basil leaves and continue to stir until they wilt. Add sea salt, cracked black pepper, dry basil & Italian seasoning, stir. Pour everything into the blender and blend.
This made about 40oz of swauss.
**I've shared this recipe at the following sites - follow the links for more great and tasty recipe ideas.
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