Recipe: Sundried-Tomato Vegan Pasta Sauce

This is a keeper, the best pasta sauce I have ever made! Rich and flavourful, your taste buds will dance!

Ingredients

• 1 medium to large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp Tuscan olive oil
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 c fresh white or button mushrooms, sliced or large chunks
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• Himalayan pink salt or sea salt to taste
• 2 tsp dried flaked red chilies (to taste, and optional)
• 2 dried sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in hot water for a few minutes to soften and finely chopped
• 1 c beet greens and stems (add a rich red colour, but no beet flavour), chopped small
• 1 796 mL can crushed tomatoes
• 1 796 mL can diced tomatoes
• 3 large handfuls of baby spinach
• 1-2 tbsp agave nectar
• Water (optional) only if sauce is too thick, however give it some time as a lot of water comes out of the veggies.

Add oil, onion, green pepper, mushrooms, garlic, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, salt, red chilies and sun-dried tomatoes to a dutch oven (or large sauce pan) over med-high heat. Stir often to combine the flavours. Cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms are soft. Add the beet greens and stems and mix in.

When the beet leaves have wilted, add the crushed and diced tomatoes, mix well. Add the spinach and stir in.

Add a quick swirl around the pot of agave nectar.

Once the spinach has wilted and is well mixed, cover and turn the heat down to medium (or even medium-low). Simmer for an hour. Stirring often. If the sauce is too watery, remove the lid and allow the liquid to evaporate. If the sauce is too thick, add a bit of water, a tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

The longer this sits the better it tastes. I even encourage making this the day before.

We ate this over quinoa rice pasta which had a nice creamy texture. However, it would go well with any pasta or spiralized vegetable “pasta” such as zucchini or squash. I also sprinkled dairy-free Parmesan on top.

Garlic Toast

I used rye bread for our garlic toast. For the garlic butter you will need:

Whatever your preferred spread — butter, margarine, olive oil, etc. I used Becel olive oil margarine for this recipe.

Ingredients for Garlic Butter:

• 3/4 c margarine (or alternate spread)
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp caraway seeds (crushed if possible, but not necessary)
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a bowl or container combine all the ingredients and mix well. I find a fork works well as the ingredients squish through the tines, mixing faster and making it very creamy.

Add a rack to a baking sheet (to keep the bread from touching the bottom).

Spread the garlic butter onto the rye bread and place in a single layer on the baking sheet. Place on middle rack in the oven (I do this and then make my pasta). Watch closely! It should be close to ready in about eight or so minutes (ovens vary) also depends on your desired crispiness of the bread.

For more crisp: I will turn on the broiler for about one or two minutes – watch very closely! Leave the baking sheet on the middle rack. I like how the spread will bubble and brown, almost caramelize (that’s not quite the right word…). Pull it from the oven right away when the spread bubbles. It will continue to cook for a bit out of the oven. This will also make your toast quite crispy, especially around the crust and then softer in the middle. If you prefer a softer garlic bread, skip this step.

I can’t stress enough to watch this closely. Ovens vary, people have different preferences. To be honest, for lunch leftovers, I tossed rye bread in the toaster and just spread this garlic butter on it out of the toaster. It worked just fine! That’s a simple option if you’re concerned about burning it under the broiler. But trust me, toasting it that way is much more fun!