Sausage and Basil Marinara Sauce for the Freezer, Made with Fresh Tomatoes

Directions

Bring a deep pot of water to a slight boil. Wash tomatoes, then cut a V into the top of each tomato, cutting away stem area. Put tomatoes with stem area removed into boiling water 1-2 minutes. Remove tomatoes to cutting board, and peel off skin, which should come off easily. If it doesn’t slip right off, leave tomatoes in boiling water a tiny bit longer. I do 4-5 tomatoes at a time, and usually let them cool for a minute or two before peeling them. Chop tomatoes and put in large heavy pot. Add tomato sauce, canned diced tomatoes, dried basil, dried oregano, ground fennel, minced garlic, and bay leaves and let sauce simmer 1-2 hours. Heat 1-2 T olive oil in a large frying pan. Squeeze sausage out of casing and brown, breaking up with heavy turner or potato masher, until sausage is well browned. Add browned sausage to sauce mixture and simmer 2-3 hours more. Add olive oil, fresh oregano and fresh basil to sauce and simmer 10-15 minutes. Let sauce cool before refrigerating or freezing. This sauce will keep for close to a year in the freezer if it is stored in a plastic container with a tight fitting lid.