Upgrade your tomato sauce game instantly by utilizing a high-quality jar of marinara. These jars, like Rao’s, are already seasoned with ingredients such as olive oil, onions, garlic, and salt, making them a flavorful shortcut for dishes like creamy vodka sauce, baked shells, and lasagna. You can also customize a jar of marinara with simple additions like harissa or hot honey to create a whole new sauce. Here are some of our favorite ways to enhance jarred marinara.
1. Add a touch of sweet heat by stirring hot honey into your tomato sauce before baking lemon-ricotta pasta shells.
2. Elevate your plating by warming marinara and using it as a foundation (and dipping sauce) for crispy maitake mushrooms.
3. Transform your sauce into vodka sauce by adding vodka and a splash of heavy cream for a sharp and creamy finish.
4. Create a flavorful dipping sauce by warming marinara with umami-packed ingredients like roasted garlic and anchovies.
5. Make a shortcut creamy sun-dried tomato sauce by combining marinara, sun-dried tomatoes, onions, and whipping cream for stuffed shells.
6. Craft a next-level Eggplant Parmesan Sandwich by broiling oven-fried eggplant slices, marinara, and Provolone on hoagie rolls.
7. Spike your sauce with soy sauce for a boost of umami flavor in dishes like roasted butternut squash Parmesan.
8. Use jarred marinara as an instant pizza sauce by spreading it on your pizza base before adding toppings.
9. Spice up your sauce with harissa for a peppery, garlicky, and smoky depth in dishes like skillet lamb lasagna.
Food & Wine contributor Justin Chapple shares a delicious recipe for a meatloaf that can be used as a glaze, created by Abby Hocking. This meatloaf, inspired by cookbook author Anna Painter, boasts a flavor reminiscent of meatballs due to the addition of sweet Italian sausage and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The dish is further enhanced by the addition of marinara sauce, which intensifies in flavor as it bakes. For the full recipe and more details, be sure to check out the original article on Food & Wine.
