Fresh San Marzano Marinara with Fettuccine

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     You may have read on Tuesday my article about Tomato-Basil Tea Sandwiches using San Marzano tomatoes.  Later that very day, Anita brought me a bag full of those glorious tomatoes straight from her garden.  This time, I had to use them for what they are famous for and that is a wonderful Italian marinara sauce!  I looked at many recipes all over the internet and YouTube.   This is the one that I finally settled on, it is a combination of a few that looked simple and delicious.  I especially like the way Gianni North Beach used the fresh basil, because I am growing it in my garden. So, my recipe is really a variation of his. 

     You must start by peeling your tomatoes.  The best way to do this is to cut an "x" through the skin at the bottom of the tomato and then putting them in boiling water for about 15 or so seconds. Then you drain and cool them a bit.  The skin will peel right off. 

Cut an "x" on the end of each tomato. Blanch them in boiling water.

After they are drained and cooled a bit, the skin will peel off easily.

      Use a deep skillet because at the end of the recipe the pasta and sauce will be all mixed together. 
      Begin by getting your tomatoes ready by chopping them into quarters and discarding the seeds.  San Marzano tomatoes have very few seeds and a lot of flesh, so this part is easy.  The seeds don't really bother me in this dish, so I just got rid of the big chunks of them.  Also, cut away the hard stem ends.
    Now, heat up your skillet with about 3 T. of olive oil in it and put in your chopped garlic to begin flavoring the oil.  The taste of the olive oil really comes through in this dish and it is so good! 
      Now, add the tomatoes to the pan and start stirring them around.  You will be surprised at how fast they start to break down.  Put in your salt and pepper and mix it in well.  

These are the tomatoes just a few minutes after I put them in the pan and added the salt and pepper.

Here is a sprig of baby basil from my garden that I just laid on top of the sauce. Simmer your sauce and let the basil wilt.

     Next, I let the sauce simmer on a medium low heat while I prepared the fettuccine.  
     When you prepare the fettuccine, be sure to salt the water and cook it until it is al dente, not too soft.  When it is ready, drain it.  Remove the wilted basil and add the fettuccine to the pan of sauce. 

Here the basil is almost all of the way wilted. Let it go a bit longer. The basil flavor will infuse into the sauce.

Add the fettuccine right into the sauce. The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce, absorbing the flavor.

Stir the sauce with the fettuccine and top with the sliced basil.

       You can add the Parmesan cheese right now or let people put on their own in individual servings.  I let each person add their own since Maddy is vegan. 
            I have a guilty confession to make.  I was sure that I had some Parmisano-Reggiano ready to use for this dish when I started cooking it.  But, alas it was all gone, so I had to use the green box! Argh! Don't hate me Anita!  I can't wait to make it again and try it with the good stuff!  But, despite the cheese fiasco, this dish was out of this world good!  I was not prepared for how good it tastes.  I had to stop myself from eating the entire pan of it. 

​Fresh San Marzano Mariana With Fettuccine

     Of course, you can make this recipe with other types of tomatoes, but if you can get San Marzanos, you will love them.  Enjoy! 

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