It’s the end of summer and we’ve almost come to the end of the fresh tomato harvest, even my local farmers market is starting to run low on those huge bushels of glistening red juicy tomatoes that always call my name. I’ve canned before, but for this meal, I wanted something FAST, FRESH and Fabulous tasting. I wanted it seasonally flavoured, and to appeal to the whole family (okay who am I kidding). I had some fresh Tomatoes left from my last visit to the market that were calling to be used, as well as some fresh Fettuccine noodles that I bought a few days ago for a special dinner, but didn’t use all of. Problem solved, a Fresh Marinara, using Basil from my garden, local Ontario Garlic, and those tomatoes… done done done.
Well, except I didn’t want to stand over the stove all day as it simmered…. so I pulled out my Instant Pot and thought I’d give it a go. I’m not an Instant Pot Expert, but I have now made many meals in it successfully, so I was up for experimenting. With very little prep, only a few ingredients and a total of maybe 25 minutes start to finish I was really happy with the depth of flavour in this Marinara Sauce, and even happier that I didn’t have splatters of red sauce all over my stove! — BONUS!
I did make some tweaks to my second test batch, adding more garlic and basil, and holding some fresh Basil back to be stirred in at the end. Pressure cooking or Slow cooking definitely affects the potency of fresh herbs, and I wanted to basil to really stand out; it is after all the end of my fresh crop, so I wanted it to be highlighted. If you’re looking for another great way to use up the end of your fresh Basil, I highly recommend trying my Classic Basil Pesto recipe.
If you are new to Instant Pot cooking this is a great recipe to start with. It takes very little time, the ingredients are abundant and inexpensive and it’s going to be delicious! If you’re still on the fence about getting an Instant Pot, all I can say is DO it! Don’t be afraid, it’s really a wonderful tool and easy to learn.
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Instant Pot Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 6-8 large tomatoes cored and cut into pieces
- 1 yellow onion peeled and quartered
- 2 large cloves garlic peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh basil chopped and divided
- 2 tsp fresh oregano
Instructions
- Set your instant pot to saute on low, add olive oil, garlic and onion. Saute 2-3 minutes.
- Add in cut tomatoes, stir and saute 2-3 more minutes to release some of the juices
- Add 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup of chopped basil and oregano
- Set Instant Pot to Pressure Cook/Manual for 8 minutes. When done, quick release.
- Let mixture cool, and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup chopped basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
I live in Leamington, and have lots of tomatoes available. Going to try this today