Jovina cooks Italian: Fresh tomato sauce

Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 4-5 pounds of fresh Roma tomatoes, quartered and seeded retaining as much pulp as possible
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large sweet onion, finely diced
• 2 celery stalks, finely diced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 2 large cloves of fresh garlic, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (chili)
• 1-2 teaspoons honey, if needed

Herbs

Place the following  herbs in a piece of cheesecloth and tie the cheesecloth closed.

• 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• 1 sprig of fresh oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs of parsley

Directions

Pour the olive oil into a large stockpot over medium heat.

Add the onions, celery, garlic and carrots.

Saute for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Add the tomatoes and sea salt.

Simmer on low heat, covered, for about an hour until the tomatoes cook down.

Remove the pot from the heat and using an immersion blender, process the mixture until smooth.

Return the pot to the heat and add the herb cheesecloth package.

Taste the sauce to see if the tomatoes were too bitter. Add the honey, if needed.

Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook  until reduced and thick, an hour to an hour and a half more. Remove the cheesecloth package and discard.

Pour the sauce into a refrigerator container and store the sauce up to 1 week, or freeze in batches.