Few recipes are as contentious as marinara sauce — the ingredients and techniques often vary wildly. Some people add sugar, while others prefer tomato paste. Bay leaves, oregano, and basil are all acceptable herbs. Meanwhile, onions and butter are crucial to Marcella Hazan’s iconic recipe. There’s no widely agreed-upon list of ingredients for marinara, though, and after doing some research, it’s obvious that some are more important than others.
I spoke with two Italian-born chefs — Francesco Lucatorto of Ceci’s Gastronomia in Los Angeles, and Marco Dalla Fontana of Adelina in Detroit — and both keep their marinara simple with only whole peeled tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and some herbs. Marco says that high-quality canned tomatoes are key, and cooking the sauce for too long robs it of its intended brightness. Francesco agrees, and reveals that sugar shouldn’t ever be necessary. “It all comes down to the quality of the tomatoes,” says Francesco, “I tend not to use any sugar. Longer cooking times will help with the acidity.