Pasta Sauce from Fresh Tomatoes

By moninikole

Ingredients

• 5 pounds of fresh tomatoes, peeled and seeded (to peel, cut a small "x" on the top and drop in to boiling water for 10 seconds and drop in to an ice bath. Skin will easily peel off)
• 1/4 cup olive oil (or tallow)
• 3 medium onions, diced
• 8 cloves of fresh garlic (or more to taste), finely minced
• 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 tsp dried)
• 1 sprig of fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
• 2 bay leaves (remove when done)
• 2 sprigs of parsley (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 carrot (1/2 should be grated and added to sauce, the other half should be added at the end of cooking and then removed)
• 1 tablespoon honey

Preparation

Step 1

Pour the olive oil into a large stockpot over medium heat.
Add diced onions, garlic and grated carrots.
Saute for 6-8 minutes or until onions are translucent and tender.
Add tomatoes, chopped basil leaves, oregano, thyme bay leaves, parsley and sea salt.
Simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours or until cooked down and starting to darken.
Add carrot piece for the last 30 minutes to absorb acidity.
Remove sprigs of herbs and piece of carrot.
Optional: Use an immersion blender to puree sauce until smooth (for a thicker sauce, skip this step.
Use fresh or store in the fridge up to 1 week, or can it according to your canner's instructions for tomato products.