Ultimate 7-Veg Pasta Sauce

Why Fresh Garden Veggies Make the Ultimate 7-Veg Pasta Sauce

There is something purely magical about walking out to the garden (or hitting up the local farmer’s market), grabbing a basket, and filling it with whatever is ripe and ready.

If you’ve got a counter full of summer produce and you’re wondering what to do with it, let me give you the ultimate answer: 7-Veg Pasta Sauce.

Sure, store-bought sauce is convenient, but nothing absolutely nothing compares to a sauce simmered with ingredients that were soaking up the sun just hours before. Here is why fresh garden veggies take this recipe to a whole new level.

1. The Flavor is Unmatched

When tomatoes ripen on the vine, their sugars develop perfectly. Pair that natural sweetness with crisp bell peppers, earthy zucchini, and fragrant basil, and you get a depth of flavor that a glass jar simply can't replicate. You don't need a ton of added sugar or artificial preservatives or salt nature already did the heavy lifting.

2. The Ultimate Sneaky Veggie Move

Got picky eaters? This is your secret weapon. A 7-veg sauce is the ultimate way to pack a massive nutritional punch into a meal everyone loves. Toss in tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, onions, garlic, and spinach (Use whatever you have fresh and in abundance). Once it’s well simmered blend until smooth, it just tastes like a rich, velvety, gourmet marinara. They’ll never know they just ate a whole garden.

3. Customizer’s Paradise

The best part about a 7-veg sauce? There are no strict rules. Your garden dictates the recipe!

• Got extra eggplant? Toss it in.

• Celery looking lonely in the crisper drawer? Chop it up.

• Too much kale? Wilt it right into the mix.

Quick Garden-to-Table Method:

1. Chop & Sauté: Start with your aromatics (onion, garlic, carrots, and celery) in a good splash of good olive oil. (I only use Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

2. Add the Summer Goods: Toss in your diced tomatoes, zucchini, and bell peppers. Let them cook down until soft and juicy.

3. Simmer & Herb: Add a splash of red wine (optional, but highly recommended!), salt, pepper, and a massive handful of fresh garden herbs like basil and oregano. Let it simmer low and slow.

4. Blend to Perfection: Use an immersion blender to get it as chunky or as silky-smooth as you like.

Toss it with your favorite pasta, use it as a pizza base, I make a big batch and freeze it in freezer bags so I can taste a little bit of summer right in the middle of winter.

What’s growing in your garden right now? What veggies would make it into your ultimate 7-veg blend? Drop your favorites in the comments!

7 Vege Tomato Sauce

2 small onions

2 small leeks

2 sticks of celery

2 carrots

2 zucchini

2 red bell peppers

2 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh oregano*

1 teaspoon fresh thyme*

2 x 14oz cans of quality whole plum tomatoes

Fresh if you have them

*substitute with Italian seasoning

METHOD

1. Start with your prep you can either do this by hand or in a food processor.

2. Peel the onions, wash and trim the leeks, celery, carrots and zucchini, deseed the peppers and squash (there’s no need to peel it), then finely chop it all. Peel the garlic and finely chop by hand.

3. Put a super-large pan on a medium heat with 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the garlic and oregano, fry for 1 minute, then add all the prepped veg.

4. Cook with the lid on for 25 minutes, or until the veg are soft but not colored, stirring regularly.

5. Pour in the caned tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon, then just under half-fill each tin with water, swirl around and pour into the pan.

6. Simmer for 25 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced. Leave to cool a little, then blitz until smooth, taste, and season to perfection.

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