Thrifty pasta sauce
Reviewed by our expert panelIngredients
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 sticks celery
- 2 courgetteszucchini, summer squashX, chopped
- 1 capsicum, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 x 400g cans tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon basil pesto or 1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 handful fresh basil leaves, torn
- ¼ teaspoon dried chilli (optional)
- black olives (optional)
Instructions
1 Heat oil in a frying pan or saucepan. Gently fry the onions and garlic. When soft, add the vegetables cook 5-10 minutes.
2 Add tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, pesto and chilli. Continue cooking until the vegetables are tender and flavours are developed (10-20 minutes).
3 Add olives and serve over cooked pasta or with meatballs, use in a calzone or serve over ravioli.
Variations
- Add a dash of wine.
- Add a couple of chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
- Add other vegetables such as asparagus tips, spinach, roasted vegetables.
- Use blanched fresh tomatoes instead of tinned tomatoes.
HFG tip
- A homemade pasta sauce may have obvious chunks of tomato, but you can easily conceal vegetables left over from a previous meal – simply purée them before adding to the sauce.
- Think of the sauce as a base and use your imagination. This is so easy and inexpensive, you need never open a jar of sauce for pasta again.
Nutrition Info (per serve)
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Calories 141cal
-
Kilojoules 590kJ
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Protein 6.9g
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Total fat 7.3g
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–Saturated fat 1.4g
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Carbohydrates 12g
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–Sugars 11g
-
Dietary fibre 3.5g
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Sodium 620mg
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Calcium 80mg
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Iron 2.1mg
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