Favorite Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Directions

Heat an oven to 400 degrees F and drizzle a little oil on a cookie sheet. Slice the tomatoes in half and toss in the oil on the pan. Add the garlic, in it's skins and toss in the oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the tomatoes are wilted. Press the garlic out of their papers, mince and set everything aside. Heat a dutch oven over medium heat and add a drizzle of oil. Add the onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and garlic and stir with a wooden spoon until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the Italian sausage and break it up a little. As the meat browns, occasionally go back to the pan every minute or so and continue to break up the meat. Add the herbs and stir again to combine, allowing to cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Stir to combine and sprinkle with kosher salt evenly over the sauce. Add the bay leaf, balsamic vinegar and parmesan rind. Stir to combine and allow to simmer for 3 hours or all day. Before serving, remove the bay leaf. We let the parmesan stay in until we've eaten all of the sauce, even with the leftovers in the fridge.