Giada's Marinara

A great marinara from Giada de Laurentiis that I've tweaked just a bit. I cook Kittencal's Italian Melt-In-Your-Mouth Meatballs in this sauce and get rave reviews. Giada's recipe calls for 2 32-oz cans of crushed tomatoes, but I cannot find that size. Instead I used 28 oz cans and an 8 oz can of tomato sauce.

• Ready In: 1 hr 50 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2  small onions, finely chopped
• 2  garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2  celery ribs, finely chopped
• 2  carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
• 2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 8  ounces tomato sauce
• 2  dried bay leaves

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until onions are translucent (about 10 mins).
2. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper. Saute until all veggies are soft (about 10 mins).
3. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens (about 1 hour).
4. Remove and discard bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Note: When serving with Kittencal's meatballs, I make the sauce the day before, bring it to a boil, drop in the meatballs, cover and cook according to Kittencal's directions. I like to serve this over Barilla's "thick spaghetti.".