The One Spice Your Marinara Sauce Is Probably Missing

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Those who resonate with the simplicity of authentic Italian cooking know that making a homemade marinara sauce recipe is an art. In the end, it comes down to the freshness of the tomatoes, the quality of the olive oil (here's a handy ranking of affordable olive oils), and perhaps most importantly, the selection of herbs. Garlic, basil, and oregano are regular and — at least in the case of the first two — seemingly necessary players in the game of marinara sauce. However, fennel is going to be your favorite secret ingredient.

With a flavor profile that lands somewhere between its cousins anise and caraway, fennel gives a distinct earthiness and sweetness to marinara sauce. Though not always included in a traditional marinara recipe, fennel is commonly utilized in Italian cooking. You might recognize it's licorice-like bite from Italian sausage.

All parts of the plant are utilized in Italian cuisine. The bulb and stalks can be chopped up for salads. The leaves are often used to flavor fish marinades, soups and cheeses. The seeds are the most potent vehicle for the plant's sweet and slightly bitter flavor, and are typically used in baking and the seasoning of meats, nuts, and sauces. If you have access to fresh fennel, simmering your sauce with some of the plant's fronds will add a gentle sweetness to it. However, if you're really looking to kick up the deep fennel flavor, it's the seeds you want.

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If you're interested in using fennel seeds to upgrade your homemade marinara sauce, there are a few tricks you can use to tailor the flavor more specifically to your liking. First and foremost, rather than just tossing in a handful of seeds, try toasting them in a pan with some oil first, as this releases more of the aromatics. To that effect, grinding up the seeds with a mortar and pestle to a powdered form ensures that you don't get random pops of intense licorice flavor, but uniformly adds depth and warmth to every bite. While ground seeds can be added towards the end of the cooking process, whole seeds should be added in the beginning so more of the flavor is leached out while the sauce simmers.

Fennel seeds can also be added to jarred marinara sauce to give it that warm, home-cooked essence. Simply toast them and toss them in the same way you would your homemade iteration. As for how much to use, about a tablespoon of ground fennel per jar might suffice. However, some homemade recipes recommend as little as 2 teaspoons of crushed seeds for a 28-ounce can of tomatoes. If you plan on incorporating ground pork or beef into the meal, you might try sauteing the meat and the seeds together before simmering the whole ensemble in your favorite jar of sauce.