Marinara sauce
A plate of ravioli alla marinara
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| Course | Main course |
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| Place of origin | Italy |
| Region or state | Naples |
| Serving temperature | Hot over pasta |
| Main ingredients | Tomatoes, garlic, onions, basil |
| Variations | Olives, capers |
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Marinara (English: "mariner's") sauce is an Italian sauce that originated in Naples, usually made with tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions. Its many variations can include the addition of capers, olives, spices, and a dash of wine.
This sauce is widely used in Italian-American cuisine, which has greatly diverged from its Old World origins.
Italians refer to marinara sauce only in association with other recipes. For instance, spaghetti alla marinara literally translates to "spaghetti mariner's style" (from the adjective marinara with the feminine suffix -a pertaining to salsa, Italian for "sauce", and also to maniera, Italian for "style"), but tomato sauce alone in Italy is called sugo/salsa al/di pomodoro or pummarola (the latter being Neapolitan language).
Several folk theories exist as to the origin of this sauce: One version states that cooks aboard Neapolitan ships returning from the Americas invented marinara sauce in the mid-16th century after Spaniards introduced the tomato (a central Mexican "New World" fruit) to Europe. Another theory states this was a sauce prepared by the wives of Neapolitan sailors upon their return from sea.
Historically, however, the first Italian cookbook to include tomato sauce,Lo Scalco alla Moderna (The Modern Steward), was written by Italian chef Antonio Latini and was published in two volumes in 1692 and 1694. Latini served as the Steward of the First Minister to the Spanish Viceroy of Naples. This early tomato sauce was more like a modern tomato salsa.
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Wikipedia