Homemade Tomato Sauce (Instant Pot)

Ingredients

• 6 lbs San Marzano tomatoes (Roma or any other plum tomato), rinsed
• 4 T. olive oil, use a good brand
• 10 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 large sweet onions, sliced and roughly chopped (Maui, Vidalia, Bermuda, Walla Walla, Sweet Imperial)
• 1 c. baby carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 Jalapeno’s (If you like spicy)
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/3 c. fresh basil, finely chopped
• 1/3 c. fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1/3 c. fresh oregano, finely chopped
• 1/2 c. red wine (Cabernet works well)
• 1 T. kosher salt
• 1 Parmesan rind (about a 2 oz piece) See note.
• 2 small cans of Tomato paste (for a thicker sauce)

Many times you can find just the Parmesan rinds at the grocery store. Just ask at the deli and cheese counter. Otherwise buy a small piece of Parmesan and cut off the rind yourself.

Instructions

1. Press the “Saute,” button on your Instant Pot and heat. Make sure to press the “adjust” button and set “saute” on the highest setting. Later in the recipe, you’ll switch it to low but for now, the highest setting is needed.
2. When hot, add the olive oil.
3. Add onions and saute until softened and slightly brown about 10 minutes.
4. Add carrots and garlic to the pot and saute a few more minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic, otherwise it will be bitter.
5. Add water, whole tomatoes and jalapenos, if being used (I will sometimes put one in now and the second in Step 7). If you have a 6 qt Instant Pot, you’ll probably need to cut up a few of your tomatoes so they all fit in the pot. If you have an 8 qt, you should be fine. Mix the onions and tomatoes as best you can.
6. Cover with lid. Press, “Manual,”(or Pressure cook on some models) and make sure it’s on high pressure. Set time to 20 minutes. If the pressure cooker won’t pressurize, add another 1/2 c. water.
7. When finished, do a quick release (or natural is fine too), add basil, parsley, oregano, red wine, salt and jalapeno / tomato paste (if being used).  Use an immersion blender to blend all of the ingredients into a nice, smooth sauce.
8. Add the parmesan rind. Push the “Saute,” button, then adjust it to the lowest setting.  Simmer for about an hour (lid off), stirring occasionally, try not to let it boil.  Taste, then adjust spices as needed- (You can also do this last part of simmering in a big pot on the stove as well). Remove rind.
9. Cool ( I let mine sit overnight in the refrigerator), then pack 1-2 cups of sauce into vacuum sealed bags or Ziplock bags.