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6 cups chopped onion (about 3 medium)
1 tablespoon sugar (I substitute 1 TBSP date syrup)
1/2 cup dry red wine (you can leave this out, but it is better with)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (I leave this out)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
(I add 1 fresh bouquet garni... see Preparation notes)
1 teaspoon salt (I leave this out)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 (24 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, undrained
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
Heat oil (or dry saute) in a Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion and sugar (date syrup). Cook 30 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Stir in wine; cook 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
I think that a bouquet garni adds to the sauce:

In this case it has: fresh parsley stems, fresh thyme sprigs and a couple of bay leaves. (Read about Bouquet Garni here.)
Great sauce. Sometimes I leave the garlic cloves whole in the sauce. It gives a slightly milder sauce for some dishes. Also good is adding a lot of smaller dice mushrooms after you've cooked the onions down partially. By the time the mushrooms cook down over 3 hours, they add a great 'meaty' texture.
