Pasta With Fresh Tomato, Basil, and Sausage Sauce

I usually use canned crushed tomatoes to make sauce because it is quick and convenient, but there is nothing like tomato sauce made fresh. It really doesn't take much longer, you can completely control the sodium, and it is so amazingly good!

1 lb penne
2 lbs plump, firm Roma tomatoes
3 sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 c fresh basil leaved, torn
salt and pepper
Parmesan

Cook the pasta according to package. In another pot, bring about 2 quarts of water to a boil. Drop in tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes or until skin begins to crack. Drain tomatoes and rinse under cold water. When they are cool enough to touch, slide the skin off the tomatoes. The skin should come off very easily.

While the water boils for the tomatoes, cook sausage in a large sauce pan over medium high heat, breaking up sausage into small chunks. Once cooked through, remove from pan and set aside. To the same pan add a little olive oil and the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until the onions become soft and translucent. Add in peeled tomatoes and cover. Stir occasionally and use a wooden spoon or spatula to break down the onion. Once sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes stir in sausage and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 5 minutes to heat the sausage through. Remove from heat and add basil and sprinkle with Parmesan.