remember how much you loved that crappy mystery meat sauce you used to get in the school cafeteria? you know, the one that left the orange grease ring around your mouth like toxic lipliner? yeah...that's gross. this stuff is way better. note: you should have a food processor for this - blender totally works, but i highly recommend you invest in a food processor, if you resolve to cook at home more, you will use it! and you can get one for around $35 i bet)
this recipe is so easy - seriously, i'd love for you to get the satisfaction of making your own healthy, delicious pasta sauce so you know just how simple it can be and use just the whole ingredients you need...but the real highlight of this recipe is introducing you to textured vegetable protein (TVP). sounds scary right? just read through this whole recipe and the hints at the bottom - this ingredient is a cheap, easy, versatile life-saver not only for vegan/vegetarians, but for anyone looking to eat healthy and lean.
note:please do read through all the way prior to starting, i didn't want to distract from the recipe steps too much, so there are hints at the bottom that are really be applicable while you're cooking
ingredients:
-28oz can crushed tomatoes
-1 small onion, diced (as always, don't stress "small" - look at the pre-bagged onions in the grocery store, those are "small" onions)
-1/2 average green bell pepper, diced
-1 average carrot, diced (only have baby carrots? ok, use 6 or so)
-2 stalks celery, diced
-3 cloves fresh garlic (only have that jarred, pre-diced kind? ok, use a 3 teaspoons, but i really prefer oneof those options over powder garlic)
-1tblsp olive oil
-1tsp dried oregano
-3/4tsp salt (i use coarse grain, so if you have fine, table salt - use just a smidge less as it'll fill the spoon more densely)
-1tsp black pepper (note to all: i used fresh cracked, i find it's zippier, if using pre-ground, you might want to use a little more to get the same spice)
-1/2tsp dried thyme (a little less common to have - you could sub dried basil)
-1/4cup red wine (and another cup for you to drink while cooking. if you're not a boozer, that's ok, you don't have to use it, but it really does add a whole other level of flavor to tomato dishes)
-3/4cup water
-1cup TVP (i used bob's redmill brand, small granules - you can get it at whole foods, it's about $4! i always find it in the baking aisle with the bob's redmill dry goods - flours, etc - just ask someone)
-1 bay leaf
what to do:
1.as always - get everything out and ready! it makes cooking so much easier! - rinse, dice your veggies, get your food processor out & plugged, open your can of tomatoes, put your sauce pan on the stove and get the matching lid out, etc, etc
2.with your sauce pan over a medium heat, toss your olive oil, then toss all your diced fresh veggies in (not the canned tomato)
3.let those veggies saute for about 5 minutes, give it a little stir a couple times (remember, saute it so we're looking for the onion and celery to start looking transparent, don't really want anything browning)
4.add your garlic and all your seasonings (not bay leaf) to the pan, give a little stir and let it go for another 3ish minutes
5.so it's likely looking a little dry in there, maybe the garlic and seasonings are starting to kinda stick to the bottom of the pan? cool, add the red wine - this is what fancy people might call deglazing, we're just gonna say your getting all those good little flavorful bits up off the pan and into the action
6.let that wine bubble and hiss for a couple minutes
7.add the tomatoes, stir everything together, cover with that lid and let that simmer for about 10 minutes
8.ladle that sauce into your food processor or blender **please see the first "hint"***
9.blend the sauce until it's no longer chunky - it's not necessarily going to be silky smooth- that's ok
10.put the sauce back into the same sauce pan, again over a medium heat, no need to wash it, though if you left chunks behind, rinse it quickly so your sauce is consistent
11.add the bay leaf, water and TVP - stir, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes - though you don't need to bug it, go ahead and stir it a couple times during that 20 mins to make sure your flame's not too high, the bottom isn't burning, and your TVP is all getting time bathing in the tasty sauce
12.check it out - taste it, salt and pepper to taste. is the TVP soft and a little chewy like ground meat? perfect!
13.remove the bay leaf! not sure if it's an urban legend, but they say if you swallow it, it can cut your throat open! whether that's true or not, it's a hard, sharp leaf...be a good host, fish it out.
hints:
-**in regards to step 8**note!: to be super safe, you should let the sauce cool some prior to blending it- take a wine break or something. i don't like waiting but that means i'm very cautious and i ladle the hot mix into my food processor, only filling it about halfway (do it in batches) put the lid on and use a kitchen towel folded over multiple times to hold over the holes in the lid of the processor so scalding sauce doesn't launch out but so the hot air can escape and i don't burn myself. you could do the same with your blender - though if you put that lid on with it's tight rubber seal and start it, you could have a volcanic explosion when you remove the lid from the hot steam whizzing around in there. be smart, be safe, i'm not responsible for any maiming or injuries, when in doubt - let it cool for 20 minutes off the stove!
-this recipe is easy, you should try it. but if you really don't want to/don't have time to make the sauce - get a jar of pre-made red sauce (pick a healthy one obviously) when you go to heat it up in a sauce pan - add 3/4 cup water and 1 cup TVP...yup, it'll work, simmer it for 15 minutes. Bam.
-you might also see "TSP" textured soy protein. if it's in the small granules that look like grape nuts cereal, that'll work too - you just don't want to get the bigger nugget sized TVP or TSP for this recipe.
-now i know there are "vegan crumbles" products that are already flavored and you don't have to go to the exhausting lengths to rehydrate them (that's sarcasm) but to be honest, products like that are way more expensive than buying TVP. and TVP is dehydrated, so whatever you don't use, you can save for ages in your pantry- also, buying it dehydrated means you get to rehydrate it with whatever flavor you want - this ingredient will appear again in other recipes!!! i think of most of those pre-made, highly process, sodium-heavy, not always healthy, expensive meat replacements just like i'd think of their meaty counterparts - they should be occasional items. honestly, all vegan products are not created equal! don't see "veggie patty" and assume it's good for you - better for you than McDonalds? sure, but so is mulch...read your labels!
-don't forget the pasta. i didn't put it in the recipe...do i really need to? if you're serving the food immediately, get the water in a big pot, covered, boiling on the stove when you prep everything for the sauce work. prior to step 11, put the pasta in to boil. i like the brown rice fusilli (corkscrew) from trader joe's because it's a little higher in protein, hearty, healthy - and the shape of the fusilli gets the sauce all caught in corkscrew grooves - yum.
-remember the galaxy brand vegan "parmesan" topping from the spinach artichoke recipe? yeah...awesome on this.
-as you'll see bellow, this recipe is a little high in sodium...i'm no angel. if sodium is a concern for you, you have the power to reduce the amount in the recipe, go for it.
nutritional facts:
this recipe yields about 4 cups of sauce - let's call 1/2 cup a serving.
facts per 1/2 cup serving:
calories: 99
fat: 1.8g
sat fat: .2g
trans fat: 0
sodium: 455mg
carbohydrates: 12.6g
fiber:3.8g
sugar:6.2g
protein:7.25g
vitamin A:59.5%
vitamin C:4.5%
calcium:7.5%
iron:13%
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