Spaghetti Marinara with Vegetarian Meatballs

I Heart Cooking Clubs is saying farewell to cooking celebrity chef Giada de Laurentiis recipes and moving on to Jamie Oliver recipes. The theme of the week is Arrivederci Giada, and I finally tried Giada's Marinara Sauce, a recipe I've had bookmarked ever since we started cooking with Giada.


Marinara Sauce
recipe from Giada de Laurentiis my changes in italics

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped -- I left out the onions and added 1 tsp onion powder
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped -- I used roasted garlic, four cloves
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes -- I used two 28 ounce cans and one half 14.5 ounce can
2 dried bay leaves

In a large casserole 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 of each salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes (I was out of San Marzanos -- which I have to order online since they are not available locally and happened to buy Dei Fratelli brand tomatoes at local mega grocery Meijer -- they were pretty good) and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour.

Remove and discard the bay leaf. 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.)

I made some vegetarian meatballs (recipe here) to go with the marinara, my kids love vegetarian meatballs and it is a fun dinner for us to make together. This time I switched out the usual pecans in the recipe for cashews and it was a nice change of pace.

Giada's marinara did not disappoint, it was a light, mild marinara sauce -- and went great with the vegetarian meatballs :)

I'm sending this post on to Claire of Chez Cayenne who is hosting Presto Pasta Nights #206 -- thank you, Claire!