Roasted Vegetable Tomato Sauce and Pasta
This hidden vegetable sauce comes with fond fuzzy memories of early motherhood. Pots of rich tomatoey sauce cooked on my stove for years before we were blessed with the birth of our daughter. With a few ingredient adjustments, I blended it smooth and mixed it with tiny pasta shapes, giving it to our wide-eyed baby girl as one of her first solid foods. I remember spooning it into her mouth and her chewing with gusto. I remember sauce smeared cheeks and a cheeky grin. Five years later and she still loves this sauce spooned over pasta and will happily eat it every night. Complements are plentiful. Cannellini beans enrich the sauce with wonderful plant powered protein and fibre and tossing it through wholemeal pasta makes it all the more nutritious. Remy and Chef Gusteau approved.
- Sauce, Kids meal, Entree, Pasta dish
- Contemporary
- first solid foods, hidden vegetable sauce, tomato sauce, roasted vegetables, Cannellini beans, wholemeal pasta, protein, fibre
Recipe:
Roasted Vegetables
- 1 large (400g) aubergine
- peeled and chopped into
- medium chunks
- 1 large (400g) zucchini
- chopped into medium chunks
- 1 large (250g) red capsicum
- seeds and core removed and
- roughly chopped
- 6 tablespoons oil, peanut or olive
- ½ teaspoon iodised table salt
The Sauce
- 4 tablespoons oil
- peanut or olive
- 1 small (100g) onion
- finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- finely sliced
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 x 400g tinned tomatoes
- 1 x 400g tinned cannellini beans
- drained and rinsed
- 500ml vegetable stock
- ½ teaspoon mixed herbs
Dish up with
Cooked wholemeal pasta
Grated cheddar cheese
Method
Turn the oven on
For the roasted vegetables, turn the oven on and set it to 200℃ or 180℃ fan forced. Line two baking trays with baking paper. If an air fryer is preferred, line the basket with baking paper.
Season chopped vegetables
Toss the chopped aubergine, zucchini and half the oil in a bowl with a good pinch of salt. Pour out onto one of the baking trays. Using the same bowl, toss the chopped red capsicum in the remaining oil with a good pinch of salt. Pour out onto the second baking tray. If using an air fryer roast vegetables the same way, but in smaller batches.
Roast vegetables
Place both vegetable trays in the oven and roast until brown and caramelised, 30 - 35 minutes. For an air fryer, roast the vegetables at 180℃ for 15 - 20 minutes or until brown and caramelised. The natural sugars in the capsicum will make it roast faster, so keep an eye on it. Once the vegetables are cooked, remove from the oven or air fryer and set aside.
Saute onion and garlic
For the sauce, heat oil in a large pot over a medium high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 10 - 15 minutes. Add the sliced garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring for a further 2 minutes.
Add roasted vegetables and simmer
Add the roasted vegetables, along with the tinned tomatoes, cannellini beans, stock and dried herbs. Give everything a good mix. Bring the sauce to a slow boil, then reduce the heat to medium and bubble away for 15 - 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and the aubergine and zucchini are soft and mushy.
Blend sauce until smooth
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, before blending until smooth with a stick blender.
Plate up
Mix a few tablespoons of the sauce through cooked pasta. Spoon into bowls and top with grated cheddar cheese.
Storage + Leftovers
Roasted Vegetable Tomato Sauce is even better the next day and can be stored for up to 4 days in the fridge. I like to portion the sauce in sealed bags or ice trays and store in the freezer, ready for quick dinners.
Recipe Notes
- Peeling the aubergine results in a sauce that’s redder and colour and very importantly free from little black specks.
- Aubergine and zucchini are spongy vegetables and they might need more oil during the roasting stage. Roasting and caramelisation is the desired effect rather than steaming.
- Don’t rush cooking out the tomato paste. Time (and stirring) activates its natural umami qualities and the reward is a rich, savoury base for the rest of the ingredients.