I make this every week from June to October when tomatoes are in season. I’ve shared a version of this sauce before- in this recipe I have bumped up the olive oil and tomatoes and simmer the sauce for hours. It’s rich and cozy and deeply flavorful. It’s blended too- so the texture is silky and luxurious. I make it on Sundays, so busy weeknights I can brown the sausage and simmer it in the sauce while the pasta cooks. Since there are only a handful of ingredients, use really delicious olive oil and the sweetest tomatoes you can find!
Notes:
The tomato sauce on its own freezes incredibly well. I like to store a few jars in the freezer and add it to sautéed sausage for a quick weeknight meal.
If you are planning to freeze the sauce ladle the sauce into jars leaving 1-1.5 inches of headspace- the sauce will expand when frozen. Refrigerate overnight before freezing. This will help prevent the jars from cracking. Store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Tomato and Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
4–5 lbs ripe tomatoes
1-2 cups sungold or cherry tomatoes
6 tablespoons olive oil + 1 tablespoon (divided)
1 large onion, diced
8 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 sprig of fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup red wine
a few sprigs of basil
Sausage Pasta
1 pound Italian sausage
12-16 oz your favorite pasta
parmesan for serving- optional
Instructions
- In a dutch oven heat 6 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 7-8 minutes until softened. Add the oregano and wine and simmer until it is jammy and mostly evaporated about 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and season with salt. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Stir once or twice so the tomatoes dont stick to the pan.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking for 2.5-3 hours.
- Transfer to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Season to taste. Allow to cool to room temperature and transfer into two mason jars with a basil leaf. Store in the fridge.
To make the Sausage Pasta
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Add the sausage, breaking it up with a spoon and cook until it starts to brown. Drain off any excess fat.
- Add one jar of the sauce. Bring to a high simmer and then reduce the heat to low and simmer while the pasta cooks.
- Cook the pasta according to the packaged directions in a pot of generously salted water.
- Add the pasta to the sauce along with a splash of cooking water and continue to cook for a minutes stirring constantly.
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