All Purpose Vegetable Base Sauce
Every home cook should have a stash of base sauce that can quickly bring a meal together with very little time and effort. Make this sauce your weekend food prep project!
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Ingredients
- 1 large white onion, finely chopped
- 4 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 1 pound mushrooms, finely chopped (cremini or button mushrooms work well)
- 1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 large carrots, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 cans San Marzano tomatoes, 28 ounce cans (add the liquid too, roughly chop the tomatoes)
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon basil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups vegetable stock (use low sodium stock if possible, otherwise, you may need to adjust the amount of salt you add since vegetable stock can be a little too salty already)
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a tight fitting lid. Over medium heat, add the onions and saute for 5 minutes.
- Next, add the celery, mushrooms, carrots, salt, and ground black pepper. Stir together and saute for 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. This step will help to soften the celery and carrot, while removing moisture from the mushrooms.
- Toss in the garlic and stir into the vegetables. Continue to saute for 5 minutes.
- Add the red and green bell peppers. Stir to combine.
- Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes and juice, bay leaves, oregano, basil, and vegetable stock. Stir well to combine all ingredients.
- Place a lid on the pot and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 3 1/2 hours, stirring well every 30 minutes.
- If the sauce is getting to thick for your preference, add half a cup of water or vegetable stock and stir. Remember to adjust salt and pepper amounts if adding extra liquid.
- The long simmer will cook down the vegetable, but not so much that they will cook down completely. The sauce will still be a little chunky. If you prefer a smooth sauce, once the sauce is completely cooked, puree the sauce with a hand-held immersion blender.
- Once the sauce is cooked, turn off the heat. Add the parsley and stir it in. Place the lid on the pot and let sit for 5 minutes. The sauce is now ready to serve. For serving and storing suggestions, please refer to the text in the post.