Roasted Tomato, Italian Sausage, and Basil Pasta Sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Wash tomatoes, then cut each in half lengthwise. Toss tomatoes in olive oil, ground fennel, dried basil, dried oregano, and dried marjoram. Put tomatoes on two cookie sheets, cut side down, and scatter half of garlic cloves among tomatoes on each sheet. Roast tomatoes about 90 minutes, until skins are starting to shrivel but tomatoes are still quite plump looking. Remove tomatoes from oven and let cool slightly. When tomatoes are nearly done, heat a small amount of olive oil in large frying pan Squeeze turkey sausage out of casing, break apart well, and saute until well browned. Put food mill over a large sauce pot and fit with disc with smallest size holes, then place next to food processor on the counter so tomatoes can be easily transferred from food processor to food mill. Using a food processor with a steel blade, add about 2-3 cups of tomatoes at a time and pulse about 15 seconds, just long enough to slightly break up tomatoes. Then transfer tomatoes to food mill and turn handle until all juice has been released from tomatoes and only skin, dry pulp, and crushed garlic remains. Add tomato juice mixture to browned Italian sausage, scraping the bottom to get all the browned bits of sausage. Add ground fennel and dried basil and additional garlic if desired. Then simmer sauce at very low heat for 2-4 hours. Stir frequently, and scrape sides of pan each time. Simmer until sauce is reduced by at least half, or more, depending on how thick you prefer your sauce. When sauce is nearly thick enough, wash fresh basil and spin or shake dry, then chop finely with chef’s knife. Add chopped basil to sauce and simmer 5 minutes.