Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce recipe

With tomatoes at their peak, it would be nothing short of a pity to spend the day making freezable pasta sauce for you to enjoy throughout the winter months.

Go by your local market–they’ll sell you some tomatoes in bulk. Grab a bottle of red wine (a glass, too, for a little for yourself) and spend about an hour making an easy, flavorful sauce that requires little effort and enough to store in the freezer.

Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce

You’ll need:

3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions
4 to 5 cloves garlic, crushed
4 kilograms tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 to 2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
1 cup good dry red wine
1 heaping tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup each, chopped: fresh basil, fresh parsley, fresh oregano
Fresh ground pepper to taste
3 bay leaves

And then:

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan. Cook the onion and garlic, stirring often, until the onion has softened. Add the tomatoes, salt, and wine, then simmer, uncovered for about 15 minutes. The tomatoes should be soft.

Add the rest of the ingredients, and continue to simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves.

Wait until it has cooled, then divide into storage containers and freeze.

Image courtesy of ivillage.com