Tomato and Mixed Vegetable Pasta Sauce

This is such an easy pasta sauce that my children love and which uses up whatever vegetables I have lurking in the fridge at the end of the week.  They love preparing the vegetables themselves, which is great as it saves me a job.  My 12yo will happily make this by herself for a family dinner, she really enjoys cooking. I wonder where she gets that from? LOL

We normally make a huge pot of this recipe as it freezes really well and is a great standby to have on hand if hungry crowds descend or if your cupboards are almost bare.

This is the recipe for a single large batch, I usually double or triple it:

3 large carrots, peeled
1 or 2 peppers (any colour will do)
handful of mushrooms
2 courgettes or 1 aubergine
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 Tblsp olive oil
2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano or mixed herbs
1 tsp sugar

Dice the carrots, peppers, mushrooms and courgettes.  Peel and dice the onion too.

Put a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the oil and saute the onion and peppers until they have softened.  Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.  Then add whatever other vegetables you are using along with the tins of chopped tomatoes, oregano and sugar.

Reduce the heat to low and put the lid on the saucepan.  Simmer for 45 minutes so that a rich sauce develops and the vegetables have softened.  Turn off the heat and serve with pasta or rice.  Leftovers are fab as a topping for baked potatoes.

Variations:

Just before the sauce has finished cooking, add a large handful or two of chopped kale, chard or fresh/frozen spinach. Cook the greens in the sauce for 5 minutes before you turn off the heat and serve.

You could stir through some flaked tuna, leftover cooked sausages/meat or a tin of chickpeas or mixed beans if you wanted to add some protein to the sauce. 



This recipe is one of the basics we teach at the School Cookery Club