Fall Harvest Vegetable Marinara

I made this marinara late this fall, when I harvested my garden for the last time before winter. I had a ton of tomatoes and decided to make a marinara that included a few other veggies. It was so delicious over pasta and a bit more complex than a straight tomato marinara.

Fall Harvest Vegetable Marinara

Ingredients:

3 1/2 - 4 pounds fresh tomatoes (blanched and peeled)

3 tbsp olive oil
6-8 cloves of garlic
2 carrots, diced small
1 stalk celery, diced small
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 small zucchini, diced small  

6 oz can tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (2 tsp dried)
1/2 tbsp fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

You want to start out by boiling some water to blanch your tomatoes with. You will also need to prepare an ice bath for the tomatoes. Do this by filling a large mixing bowl halfway with cold water and then adding ice to it.

Once the water is boiling put the tomatoes in the boiling water for 40 seconds. Remove them with a slotted spoon into the ice bath.

Now you are ready to start the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Prepare all the vegetables and add them to the olive oil (this includes the garlic, carrots, celery, bell pepper and zucchini). Next, peel the tomatoes and either crush them into the pan with your hands, or dice them on a cutting board and pour them into the pan. Be sure to include the tomato juice.

Stir to combine well add the tomato paste and the seasonings. Let it simmer for an hour or two, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce has thickened up to a nice consistency, add the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings. If your vegetables were not very sweet you can add a tsp of agave or sugar if you like.

Serve warm over pasta.

This recipe made a lot of sauce. I froze 4 quart-sized bags from this recipe to enjoy during the winter. You can cut the recipe down and use less tomatoes if you do not want the excess.