Red sauce from the garden
September 16, 2009
Lake Saint Louis, MO
by Kris Kolk
For some time I have wondered if it would be cost-effective to make homemade red sauce with fresh ingredients from the garden or farmer’s market.
Would I need bushels of tomatoes for just one pasta dinner? I didn’t know.
I decided to wing it and find out what happens.
Some recipes instruct starting the recipe three hours before mealtime. Most days, that’s not going to happen around here. I only simmered this batch for about a half hour.
You may call this marinara, pasta sauce or dipping sauce. I guess it depends on what you eat with it.
Easy and speedy fresh-from-the-garden red sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ onion, chopped fine
¼ green pepper, chopped fine
½ celery rib, chopped fine
2 tomatoes, diced
2 teaspoons of Italian spices
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
In a saucepan, sauté the onion, green pepper and celery in some olive oil sprinkled with garlic powder.
Add the diced tomatoes (with peels, juice and seeds—what’s wrong with being lazy?)
Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer, stirring often, for a half hour or until you are ready to eat.
The result is salsa-like in consistency. I made it a bit smoother by breaking up and mashing the mixture with the edge of a spatula during simmer time.
This recipe makes enough for two small servings of pasta or enough pizza sauce for one pizza.
Double or triple as needed.
Copyright 2009 Neighbors About Town
