SPANISH MARINARA

This recipe is also a great way to use up the many odds and ends of tomatoes one seems to have at this time in the season: you simply wash your tomatoes, cut out the cores and any bad spots, cut into chunks, then throw them in the blender and make a puree! 
 
Ingredients:
6+ C. of fresh tomatoes chunks- bad spots and cores cut out. 
3 TB. Extra virgin olive oil
2 Lg. cloves garlic, minced
½ C. very finely diced onions  
1 teas. Sea salt
2 teas. Sugar* or Honey (my preference)
2 bay leaves.
 
Finishing herbs (if you want to add them)
1 TB dried basil, oregano or both.
Or ¼ C. chopped fresh basil, or oregano
 
Instructions:
In batches, puree the tomatoes in a blender till smooth. Set aside the puree in a large container. You should end up with about 6 cups of puree. If you don’t have enough tomatoes, make up the difference with a canned product.
 
In a heavy bottomed, stainless or enameled 4-6 Qt. pot, add the olive oil and heat on high till the oil is nearly smoking. Add the garlic and onion at once, letting them fry in the oil. Stir for 2-3 minutes until they become a little golden in color. Now add the tomato puree all at once--the mixture will bubble and froth. Add the salt, sweetener, bay leaves and allow the sauce to come to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for about an hour, or till it has reduced to about 4 cups. Check and stir occasionally so the bottom doesn’t stick. 
 
At the end of the cooking time, the liquid will have reduced by about a third. Taste and adjust for salt. If you are using fresh herbs, add them at this stage.
You can now either pour this over freshly cooked pasta (enough for 4 servings of pasta) or you can refrigerate or freeze the sauce. Keeps 1 week in the refrigerator, or 2-3 months in the freezer.
 
Notes: Variations for this sauce
Additions: Turn this into a great vegetable sauce!
Add: 1 ½ C. diced zucchini, one 14oz. can of diced artichoke hearts (drained) and 3 C. fresh chopped spinach. Add these in the last 15 minutes of simmering the sauce--excellent! Use as the sauce for your favorite lasagna recipe.