Marinara "Laura's Salsa"
Updated: Oct 1
Recipe Creator: Inspired by my mother, Laura Apap
My mother, Laura, was a wonderful cook. She lived for it. If she wasn’t in her kitchen, she was at the Queen Victoria Market gathering ingredients for her next big catering job or family cook-up.
She was always busy, always preparing something, and as a child I was constantly watching her. Thank goodness I was, because the woman absolutely never put pen to paper. There were no carefully written recipe books, no measured instructions and very few notes to fall back on later. She simply cooked.
So this recipe is Laura’s Salsa, recreated from what I can remember from all those years spent watching her in the kitchen.
I use it every week now because it cuts down cooking time dramatically. The sauce is already cooked, seasoned and full of herbs, so on a busy day, much of the work has already been done.
Simply heat it through and add a mince of your choice, or leave the meat out altogether. I use it for quick pasta lunches for school or work, portion it into containers for the freezer, and it works beautifully as the tomato base for chicken parmigiana too.
There are endless ways to use it, which is why having a jar ready in the fridge has become such a staple in our home.
It’s a practical little shortcut for everyday cooking, but for me it’s also something more, a recipe pieced together from memory, from watching Mum cook, and from hoping I paid close enough attention all those years ago.
A jar of Laura’s Salsa in the fridge has become one of those things I rely on throughout the week. It gives me a head start on dinner when the day has been busy — whether I’m making pasta, school lunches, chicken parmigiana, a quick mince sauce, or simply pulling together a meal from what I already have on hand. Laura’s Salsa means more to me than convenience.
This is a recipe I’ve pieced together from memory, from years spent watching Mum cook without ever writing a thing down. I’m grateful now for all those hours spent beside her in the kitchen, quietly taking it in without realising how valuable those memories would become.
Every time I make it, I’m reminded of her — always cooking, always preparing, always feeding someone.
And now, in my own kitchen, I get to keep a little part of that going.
If you make Laura’s Salsa, please do leave a comment on my blog. I’d love to hear how you used it in your own home.
Happy Cooking,
L-ikla t-tajba,
(Maltese for, enjoy your meal)
Hey Jen, really liked this recipe ...
👍loved it.