Thrifty pasta sauce

Author: Sophie Gray - Food Writer, Author

Photographer: iStockphoto.com

First published: Feb 2006

Serves: 4

Time to make: 40 mins

Ingredients

1 tablespoon basil pesto or 1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 handful fresh basil leaves, torn

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.

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.

Calories 141cal

Kilojoules 590kJ

Protein 6.9g

Total fat 7.3g

–Saturated fat 1.4g

Carbohydrates 12g

–Sugars 11g

Dietary fibre 3.5g

Sodium 620mg

Calcium 80mg

Iron 2.1mg

Note: This nutrition analysis is a guide only. Nutrition composition will vary depending on the exact ingredients used. See our guides on your optimal daily nutrition intake, and supermarket shopping.

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