First, we need to get rid of the tomato skins. You can use a potato peeler. If the tomatoes are too soft, make a criss-cross cut on top of tomatoes and drop them into boiling water for just a minute and the skin will be easy to peel off.
Chop your vegetables (don't let any of the tomato juice escape, you will use it all). If you prefer a chunky sauce, dice the vegetables. If you prefer a smooth sauce then it doesn't matter because you will blend all of it in the end. I recommend a little bit of both. Dice your vegetables but use a hand-held blender in a couple of spots but not on all the sauce.
In a large pot, preheat the oil on medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrots. Saute until a little bit caramelized. Lower the heat to medium and add tomatoes, some salt and a bay leaf. Mix well. Cover but leave a crack to let the steam escape and cook for about 15 minutes (don't forget to stir).
Add garlic, sugar, pepper, oregano and thyme. Cover and cook over medium low heat for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Mince the fresh basil and add it to the pot. Cover, leaving a crack for steam to escape, and cook for another hour. (Remember to stir once in a while.)
Pulse the sauce with a hand-held blender a few times. Taste to make sure that you have enough salt.
Take off heat and cool it to room temperature. Transfer it to a jar and close tightly. Refrigerate when not using. (You can also portion it into freezer bags and freeze.)
Notes
Recipe from Lyuba @ willcookforsmiles.com All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to share this recipe, please simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.