How has ever had veggies go bad in the refrigerator? If you don't have your hand raised then I call you either a liar or you don't eat veggies. Don't worry. This is a #NoJudgementZone and we're in this journey together. One way to use up veggies before they go bad is to throw them into a pot and create some homemade tomato sauce!
Don't worry. I'm not going to tell you some long story about how this sauce came about and I'm not going to give you any measurements because it really is about using what you have. Here's a time lapse video of my latest creation and what I put it in.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small shallot, diced
1/4 medium white onion, sliced
small cloves of garlic through garlic press
1 medium carrot, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 zucchini, diced
28oz can of tomato sauce
6oz can of tomato paste
The only constant that I have is the tomato sauce to paste ratio. If you're unfamiliar with tomato paste, it will give a very strong and sweet (in my opinion) tomato taste. If that's not your jam, start by adding one tablespoon at a time.
Start by sauteing your veggies. You'll want to start with your onions and garlic first. Then I added the carrot and let it cook, stirring frequently for about 5-8 minutes until it started to get tender. Add the bell pepper and zucchini. Let cook, stirring frequently for another 5 minutes. This will draw out some of the moisture from the zucchini and will give it time to evaporate and not water down your sauce. Now you add the sauce and paste. Taste and season with salt and pepper. If you want to add some dried spices, you can add them here but if you're going to add fresh, you'll wait until the end. Cook covered over medium low heat for about an hour until it has reduced by 1/4.
Now comes the fun part! Working in batches, add sauce to a blender, add the lid but remove the center cap. This will allow for the heat to leave the blender but you want to cover with a kitchen towel and keep your hand firmly on the lid so it doesn't explode and blow the lid off. It's happened to me and it's not fun! Blend until it has reached your desired consistency. Add back to pot and taste. Adjust seasoning add needed. If using fresh herbs, add them here and cook for another 10 minutes over low heat. You don't want to bring this to a boil. You don't want to reduce this anymore.
You can leave the sauce chunky and add ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken, veggie crumbles or even plant-based "meat" product). You can blend and then add ground meat. You can add literally add any veggies that you want to the base of the tomato sauce. If you make this recipe, I would love to hear your feedback in the comments. Let me know if you followed this recipe or what changes you made (because anything goes in this recipe!). If you share this on social media, please tag me @Myranda.McCaffreyNowak on FB, IG and TikTok.
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