Rustic Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce

As the summer comes to a close, the amount of fresh garden vegetables available becomes less and less. While we don’t have our own garden, Max and I have been able to take advantage of a few friends that just happen to have” too many” tomatoes and jalapenos to finish themselves (oh darn!). That, along with the apartment community garden that we will occasionally pick at, we like to make many dishes that include fresh ingredients.

Our “rustic” spaghetti sauce is one of our favorite dishes to make together (probably because I can chop up the veggies and he can do the actual cooking). This meal is the perfect balance of freshness and satisfying flavors that is sure to fill up the belly. I must say that Max calls it “rustic” because he never actually follows a recipe. It’s more or less a throw-everything-together kinda deal until we are satisfied with the flavor.

With that being said, I did my best to capture all of the measurements that will make a perfect meal for two with definite leftovers for lunch the next day.

Ingredients:

1 onion

5 cloves of garlic

Assortment of tomatoes (see image) we used 10 roma tomatoes and roughly 30 cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or EVOO as my girl Rachael Ray says)

1 minced jalapeno

1 tbsp of red wine vinegar

1 tbsp of honey (to add sweetness)

Basil and parsley – finely chopped (to your liking)

2 Cups of Pasta (whichever pasta you prefer; I love tri color pasta)

1) Sweat onion and garlic with salt and pepper until caramelized

2) Add tomatoes evenly into pan, along with the red wine vinegar, jalapeno and a touch more salt and pepper

3) Cover pan, reduce to low heat, and cook an hour and 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened

4) Add in parsley, basil and honey; let cook another 15 minutes

5) Taste for consistency

6) Pur over pasta and enjoy!