Simple Marinara Roasted Garlic & Basil Sauce

This is a basic tomato sauce that you can use as a base for chicken, meatballs, Italian sausage, shellfish, or simply, all by itself! It is quick and easy to make, and only requires ten simple ingredients!

4 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled and chopped
2 6 oz cans of tomato paste
1 1/2 cups of water
1/4 cup of red wine (optional)
3 tablespoons of olive oil (I like to use mix of olive oil and canola oil)
2 teaspoons of dried basil (or 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil)
2 teaspoons of cracked pepper
1-2 teaspoons of sea salt
shredded parmesan cheese for garnish
package of fettuccine

Peel and chop 4 cloves of garlic.

Add the 3 tablespoons of olive/canola oil to a large saucepan. Heat oil on medium, and then add the chopped garlic. Cook the garlic, stirring frequently, until the garlic starts to brown on the edges. This will give the sauce a nice roasted garlic flavor! Be careful not to burn the garlic, as it heats quickly.

Lower heat to low setting, add tomato paste, water, wine, basil, sea salt, and pepper. Stir until all ingredients are combined. Let simmer for 20 minutes (or longer if you have time, as the longer you simmer the sauce, the more flavorful it becomes!). Stir sauce occasionally as it simmers. Hint: Make a foil tent to keep sauce from splattering.

Add water, salt, and a splash of olive oil to keep noodles from sticking to pan and to each other. Bring water to a boil, and add noodles. Cook noodles (follow package instructions, as cooking times may vary depending on the noodles you select). Stir noodles occasionally. Drain noodles and prepare to assemble your pasta dish! Note: You can use any type of pasta; however, I prefer fettuccine with this sauce.

Place noodles on plate, and spoon sauce over noodles generously. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Garnish with fresh basil if available. Serve as appetizer, or with Italian bread and some nice red wine. Use this sauce as a base for chicken, seafood, shellfish, veal, meatballs, and/or Italian sausage. This sauce is a classic, and you will make it again and again. Hint: Do not add oregano. Only use basil. (Advice from an Italian relative. Basil is for pasta sauce, oregano is for pizza.)