The name suggests seafood, and that’s certainly how it’s used in Australia eg a Pizza Marinara is a pizza with seafood. So you can imagine my disgust when Subway started advertising some kind of chicken sandwich with marinara sauce.
I eventually worked out that it’s used for a tomato-based sauce…so how come Americans seem to use the word “Marinara”?
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=marinara&x=15&y=15
I’ve never heard marinara refer to seafood.
Try here for instance…
“Marinara” must have some sort of oceanic history. “Marinero” translates to “sailor” in Spanish, and a marina is a boat basin. The worlds closely resemble marinara, but I’m not sure how else they compare.
I believe it’s called marinara because the sauce was composed of ingredients that were capable of lasting a long time aboard ship. Could be cobbled together quickly, in between all the other work necessary on a ship. In Italian, if you want to label something that has seafood of any kind in it, tack on the word pescatore[it’s the Italian word for fisherman] Mangia bene!
I think you area being to literal regarding English and applying it to Italian. Marinara is just a tomato sauce.
Basically, it means “sailor style” (alla marinara) in Italian. It’s a simple sauce such as sailors might use aboard ship. It has nothing to do with seafood (at least originally.) Likewise, “cacciatore” means “hunter’s style.”
From here.
I’ve actually made Marinara Sauce from scratch, old world style. It is nothing more than a cup of olive oil and a handful of garlic fried together. Then you through a can of diced tomatoes on top and let it simmer for close to a half an hour. Add any further spices to make your own personal touch.
Same as “marinate” in English.
Etymology: French, from mariner to pickle, marinate, probably from Italian marinare
: a savory usually acidic sauce in which meat, fish, or a vegetable is soaked to enrich its flavor or to tenderize it
In our next episode of “Cooking with Cecil” we’ll discuss the origins and ingredients of putanesca sauce. Parental guidance is suggested.
The use of “marinara” to mean “seafood tomato sauce” is widespread through Australia, must be a regional thing.
Speaking of tasting fishy.