Ralu's pasta sauce

      I came up with this pasta sauce when my kids were little and, according to them, they didn't like mushrooms. But I looooved mushrooms so I had to have them and tried to add them to my kids' diet as well. So I put the mushrooms in the blender and pulsed them until they were so fine that it was hard to tell what that was. And... it worked! Everybody loved the sauce! I hope you like it too. The quantities below yield 8-10 portions, any leftovers are easily freezable.

                                                      Ingredients

                                        - 400 g mushrooms
                                        - 1 large onion
                                        - 1 bell pepper/3 small ones
                                        - 1 carrot
                                        - 1 zucchini
                                        - 3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
                                        - 500 ml tomato sauce
                                        - 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
                                        - 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
                                        - 1 Tablespoon oregano
                                        - 2 teaspoons basil
                                        - salt and pepper
                                        - nutritional yeast/grated parmesan


       If you want the sauce to be very fine, mince the veggies in a food processor, if you prefer a slightly chunkier texture, chop them by hand. I usually chop the onion and the pepper by hand and the rest of the veggies get pulsed in the food processor.         Heat the oil in a large pan/pot and start by gently frying the onions until they start to turn golden, then add the peppers and cook 2 minutes more, add the carrot, the zucchini and cook a few minutes more. Add the mushrooms, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the veggies have reduced and start to stick to the bottom of the pan. That is when you add the minced garlic and continue cooking for about 30 seconds more, stirring. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, basil, salt and pepper and cook about 5 minutes more, until the sauce has come together. Serve with your favorite pasta!

      

Add the grated zucchini

When veggies start to stick to the bottom of the pan, add the garlic .