Homemade Red Wine Marinara Sauce

Makes about 4-5 pints of sauce.

Recipe may be doubled or even tripled if you have a lot of tomatoes to use. Cooking time will vary according to how many tomatoes you are using.

4 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup finely chopped yellow onion

4 pounds tomatoes (about 8-9 large) peeled and coarsely chopped, including juices

4 large cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped (about 2 teaspoons)

¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, chopped

3/4 cup hearty red wine, such as cabernet or burgundy

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon sugar

Note: The easiest way to peel tomatoes is to score the bottoms with an X using a sharp, serrated knife and put them into a pot of boiling water for about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a large bowl of ice water. The skin will peel off easily with your hands. Do this in batches until all of your tomatoes are peeled.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until softened, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes, add minced garlic and sauté for another minute.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir together. Bring the liquid from the tomatoes to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 to 5 hours, stirring occasionally until reduced to a sauce consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.

Use an immersion blender, or a regular blender in small batches, process the sauce until it is as smooth as you like. If desired, you can strain the sauce through a medium mesh strainer but it’s not necessary.