Tania's Pasta Sauce
Healthy and adaptable version of pasta sauce that I've been feeding my family since grating veges into toddler meals!
Ingredients
- Olive oil for greasing pan
- Low fat beef mince (or chicken mince or tinned red kidney beans) - I generally use 500g of mince
- Onion - chopped
- Leek - chopped
- Carrot - grated
- Zucchini - grated
- Broccoli - grated
- Baby spinach (or spinach) - chopped
- Fresh tomatoes - chopped small (approx 5)
- Tin of crushed tomatoes (can use more tomatoes instead of a tin)
- Tomato paste (I use a 140g tub)
- Splash of Balsamic vinegar
- Dried Italian herbs
- Fresh basil (or dried if not available)
- Fresh pasta (or dried if preferred)
Instructions
- Heat oil in pan
- Cook onion until carmelised
- Add meat if using (add red kidney beans near end if using beans) and cook until browned
- Add a splash of balsamic vinegar (I twirl it round a couple of times)
- Add tomatoes, tinned tomatoes and tomato paste and stir
- Add all other vegetables
- Turn down the heat to simmer, add some water to your desired consistency (may have to add more water as it cooks)
- Ideally simmer for at least 30mins (preferably 40-45mins) to allow the flavours to develop - stir regularly and add extra water as needed
- Add dried herbs and fresh basil
- Cook pasta as per instructions
- Serve with grated cheese if desired
Notes
- Generally this recipe feeds my family of 4 adults with some leftovers. It's something we generally have once per week (pasta night) as everyone eats it and it has loads of veges.
- This is the type of pasta sauce I've been cooking since my kids were little and I grated veges into everything. I've simply just continued with this process and works well. You can get a lot of vege bang for your buck by grating them in!
- One thing I try to do is add more vegetables than meat.
- I haven't given specific measurements as I really just throw in things according to how I'm feeling or what I have available on the day. I recommend experimenting to find the right mix of vegetables for you.
- Cooking the sauce until the tomatoes are nice and soft makes it taste better - ie the longer the better (ideally around 40mins of simmering).
- TIP: Often while the sauce is simmering, I'll do a workout and stir the sauce in between sets.