Garden Marinara Sauce with Italian Sausage

I love fall, because my garden is setting many heirloom tomatoes — the perfect time to make a pot of made-from-scratch Italian marinara sauce. This recipe also calls for grilled or pan-fried Italian sausage served over pasta. The marinara is based, in part, on a recipe from a friend who is first generation Italian – his family hails from an area just outside of Rome.

Easier than you thought, eh?  Enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 tbs. olive oil 1 tbs. rendered bacon fat 8 cups pureed garden tomatoes (blanched and peeled) 2 cloves garlic – peeled and minced 1 medium Spanish onion – fine chopped 1/2 cup red wine 1 stalk celery with leaves – minced 1 sweet bell red pepper, diced 1 carrot – peeled and grated 1 tsp. salt, to taste Pinch of sugar 12 dried chiltepin peppers, to taste, crushed in a mortar 1 tsp. dry ground Turkish oregano 1 tsp. dry ground basil 1 tbs. dry ground parsley flakes 2 dry bay leaves

5 mild Italian sausage links, grilled or pan-fried and cut into chunks at a bias Your choice of pasta noodles, cooked al-dente

Directions:

Using a 3-quart heavy non-reactive enameled cast-iron pot, add the olive oil and rendered bacon fat. Heat on medium and then add the onion, garlic and celery, stirring for about 20 minutes until translucent. Add the red wine and deglaze the pot.

Blanch and peel the garden tomatoes and pulse in a food processor until smooth. (To blanch tomatoes, wash and add to a pot of boiling water for thirty seconds, then plunge into ice-cold water. The skins will peel off.)  Core, process and add to the pot and increase the heat until a low simmer is achieved. Add the carrot, bell pepper and dry spices. Simmer on very low heat, partially covered for about six hours, until most of the water is rendered out, stirring occasionally. While the sauce is cooking, grill or fry the Italian sausage and then cut into chunks and add to the pot, during the last two hours of cooking. Stir every half-hour.

Serve over your choice of pasta, cooked al-dente.

Makes about 2.75 quarts. Serves 4-6

Note: to cut the acidity of tomatoes, sugar is added. Shredded carrot is also used. Taste and adjust to your preference accordingly. A touch of dry red wine may be added, but is not necessary.