We served more than 2,000 meatballs over the last week mixing meat with grated carrot, herbs from the garden, garlic, onion and breadcrumbs.
They're nestled here in a marinara sauce that makes good use of 700 pounds of donated tomatoes from the generous folks at Delvin Farms.
The marinara recipe we followed is below (though we omitted wine and made a few other adjustments based on quantities and availability).
Fresh Tomato Marinara Sauce
Makes about six cups
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 8 cups tomato chunks
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- small bunch of fresh basil
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. In a large saucepan, saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until softened, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Add wine and simmer until liquid has evaporated, making sure garlic doesn't burn. Stir in tomatoes and pinch of salt.
2. Add oregano and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low and cover for 15 minutes. Covering will help the tomatoes to "sweat" and break down more quickly. Uncover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for about an hour.
3. Use an immersion blender to carefully puree the sauce. Add basil and blend it in with the blender or leave whole.
4. Continue to simmer another 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
(Recipe from this source.)