August 4, 2023

Veggie-Tastic Pasta Sauce

This is our latest school Cook Workshop recipe and was successfully road tested with budding cooks at Sutton Primary this week.  Jam-packed with nutritious veg this is one of the easiest and tastiest ways to get extra veggies into our diet. Use as a pasta sauce, a topping for homemade pizza or thin down with stock or water to make a tasty soup. In recipes using more than one tin of tomatoes try swapping one tin for a tin’s worth of this sauce for an extra veggie boost.

This recipe makes a very big batch of sauce which can be divided and frozen for future meals, or half or quarter to make smaller quantities. For a creamier sauce try stirring through some creme fraiche. If you don’t have all these veggies or they’re not in season omit or switch to those that you have or are in season.

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 onions
  • 2 leeks
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 sticks of celery
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 courgette
  • 2 red peppers
  • 1/2 small butternut squash
  • 4 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
  • 2 heaped teaspoons dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
  • salt and pepper

Method

  1. Prep all your veggies. You can either do this by hand (a great opportunity to practice knife skills!) or in batches whiz it though a food processor.
  2. Peel the onions, wash and trim the leeks, scrub the carrots, wash the celery and courgette, de-seed the pepper, peel and de-seed the butternut squash. Then finely chop them all. Peel the garlic and crush in a garlic press or finely chop.
  3. Place 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and heat. Add the onion, garlic celery and carrot and cook for 5 minutes before adding the rest of the cut veggies. Cook for a further 5 minutes with the lid on.
  4. Pour in the tomatoes then half fill each tin with water, swirl around and pour into the pan. Stir through the oregano and a large pinch each of salt and pepper.
  5. Simmer for 20 – 25 minutes with the lid on until all the veggies are fully tender.
  6. Blitz in a food processor, blender or with a hand held stick blender until smooth. Taste and season with more salt and pepper until you’re happy.