Monday, August 25, 2008

Veggies? Yep - They're In There!

I had some vegetables to use up, normally I don't put that many into my pasta sauces, but I will more often. Jamie's not a vegetables fan, but by finely dicing the celery and shredding the carrots, I may have slipped them by him. With the different veggies, roasted garlic and fresh herbs, you certainly don't miss any meat.




Roasted Garlic Marinara Sauce

1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, shredded
14.5 oz can Italian stewed tomatoes, crushed by hand, use about 1/4-1/2 cup of water to rinse out can
1 28 oz crushed tomatoes
14 oz tomato sauce
3 tbsp tomato paste (more if needed)
4 large cloves of roasted garlic, squeezed into a paste
1/2 tsp sugar
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine (I used Merlot)
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup each fresh basil and parsley coarsely chopped

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and add the first 4 ingredients and saute over medium heat for 8 minutes, or till vegetables are tender.

Add the wine, all the tomatoes/paste, sugar, roasted garlic, salt and pepper. Once bubbling, stir, cover and reduce heat to low. Stir occasionally and simmer for 3 hours.

About halfway through simmering, I added the fresh herbs, and added some more once plated. I served it with whole wheat penne rigate, some shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano & a romaine spinach & veggie salad and a simple red wine vinaigrette.

3 comments:

Brooke said...

Mmmm....this looks yum. My husband prefers not to eat veggies -- great idea.

Macaroni and Cheesecake said...

What a great idea! You can't even tell that there are veggies in there!

Carrie said...

I love pasta!