Monday, October 4, 2010

Sun Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce & Angel Hair Zucchini

Fresh Marinara Sauce from Sun Dried Tomatoes

This "no need to cook" sun -dried marinara sauce is a keeper. Whip it up for company or enjoy it any night of the week.

This unique marinara sauce recipe is made with a blend of sun dried tomatoes, regular tomatoes, olive oil, lots of fresh basil, and raisins  for sweetness. It is prepared in the food processor and can be served over a plateful of thin little curls of fresh zucchini spirals made in a spiralizer (  recipe below) or eat with your favorite gluten free pasta.

I first tasted this unusual recipe at a holistic awareness food class I took with Nicole from Whole Leaf Nutrition a few years ago. It was definitely the favorite of everyone in the class!

I love this recipe. Since it is not heated,  the health giving enzymes in the vegetables and herbs are not destroyed. In addition, this recipe is rich in vitamin C, lycopene, and is a rich source of antioxidants. It is surprisingly quick and easy to make and tastes amazing!

Because there is no cooking involved simply soak  the sun dried tomatoes and raisins for a minimum of an hour, drain, add to the remainder of the ingredients and blend in the food processor until creamy. The most time consuming part of the recipe is the waiting for the dried tomatoes and raisins to soak.

Eat over "angel hair zucchini" which I make with a tool called a "spiralizer" that is available on Amazon. o
use this fabulous sauce over your favorite gluten free pasta.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes, soaked for at least 1 hour
1/4 cup raisins, soaked for at least 1 hour
2 1/2 cups of fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup (or more) fresh basil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove fresh garlic ( optional)
cayenne pepper ( optional)
sea salt ( optional)

Directions:
In the food processor with a metal blade place soaked and drained sun dried tomatoes and raisins, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, and a little sea salt. While processing pour olive oil in slowly. Process until smooth and blended.


Picture Step By Step  ( Sorry, my flash stopped working midway)


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Soak and Drain Sun Dried Tomatoes and Raisins For At Least 1 Hour

Assemble Tomatoes, Basil, Soaked Raisins, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Olive Oil and Sea Salt

Chop Tomatoes

Place Ingredients in Food Processor



Process Until All Ingredients Are Well Blended

Pour sauce over angel hair zucchini strands..
Use a spiralizer on the angel hair setting







Marinara sauce can be traced back to European cooks aboard Napolitan sailing vessels in the middle 1500's. Since tomatoes were very high in acid, this sauce could withstand the long sea voyages without spoiling. The word marinara is derived from the Italian phrase " alla marinara." When we eat pasta with marinara sauce, we are eating pasta "sailor style".






The spiralizer can be bought online. Use raw zucchini to make this low calorie pasta dish.




10 comments:

  1. This marinara sauce sounds delightful. Sometimes, when we put the right ingredients together, although, they are not the norm, we get a winner. Thanks for linking you winner to My Meatless Mondays.

    I printed this up and hope to make it, this week.

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  2. Oh wow! This looks amazing, and I love the idea of zucchini "pasta". Great post - I can't wait to try!!

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  3. This sounds interesting for sure. I would have never thought to put raisins in marinara sauce or to make it in this manner and serve cold. I was just making my grocery list for tomorrow and noticed that I have a jar of raisins that need to be used up and a jar of sun-dried tomatoes. And yesterday I cut down all of my basil. Kismet I tell 'ya.

    Thanks for linking to Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays!

    ♥ Rebecca Jean
    Midnight Maniac

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  4. Wow, that spiral slicer is pretty cool!! And the sauce sounds just amazing and packed with flavor from those gorgeous little sundried tomatoes =)

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  5. I've never tried a 'raw' sauce like this, but your recipe has me thinking it might be something I'd like. That slicer is pretty cool, too.

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  6. I've never tried a raw sauce either, but the ingredients look tasty. I like the idea of putting it on zucchini, but then I just love zucchini. Thanks for participating in Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

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  7. Great idea to use zucchini in place of pasta. It looks delicious.

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  8. The sun-dried tomato sauce is delicious!!!

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  9. A great meal idea anytime of year, whether it be lunch or supper. I'm sure you feel satisfied because you get the "sauce and pasta" craving taken care of, w/out the gluten or calorie factor!

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  10. This looks delicious, thank you for guiding me to your site. I am attempting to go vegan, I need to really cut out the dairy. I made a vegan parmesan cheese today that may go well with that sauce.

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