Pasta is healthy, it's the sauce that can knock us down. With a great split of carbs, protein and fibre, pasta is a great ingredient to include in a balanced diet. This sauce adds a tonne of hidden veg, loaded with vitamins and minerals to boost your healthy eating and gut health - plus it tastes the pretty good for a quick mid-week dinner.
Everyday Healthy Pasta Sauce
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Dinner
Author:
Maurice
Servings
4-5
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Growing up in an Italian and French household, Friday pasta night was a ritual that was rarely neglected. Some years later and I look at my own kids wondering if I’m depriving them of the 12-hour slow cooked, olive oil soaked with tender beef ribs, delicious sugo that I grew up with. But let’s be honest, unless I’ve woken up with an unprecedented amount of motivation (which occasionally happens if my kids give me a huge 6.5 hour chunk of unbroken sleep 😝) then I want a quick meal that tastes good and gives me energy. This is that meal.

Ingredients
Sauce
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12 Red Veg Blocks
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x2 400g cans of Italian diced tomatoes
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1 small brown onion, roughly chopped
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4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
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½ cup of red cooking wine
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2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
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1 tablespoon of veg oil for sautéing the onion
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70g of anchovies, drained (discard the oil) and chopped finely***
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⅓ cup of kalamata olives, chopped finely***
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¼ cup of finely chopped fresh parsley and/or fresh oregano
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Cracked pepper to your taste
To Serve
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500g pasta of choice
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Grated or shaved parmesan to serve
Directions
Detailed Instructions
Prep all the ingredients - chopping and dicing as per the ingredients list.
Heat the medium saucepan on a medium heat. Add the peanut oil. Once hot, add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 3-4 mins, then add the anchovies. Cook until the anchovies have broken down and the mixture is a dark brown (it will stick the pan a bit, that's ok).
Add the red wine and turn up the heat to high. Reduce the liquid down to approx. ⅓ of what you started with (it doesn't matter if you cook it off further) - this will ensure there is no alcohol left in the sauce.
Add the 2 cans of tomato, the Veg Blocks, the olives, herbs, and pepper. Once boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer.
Simmer for 20-40 mins (the longer the better, but this sauce won't change much once you reach 1 hour of simmering).
Cook your pasta in the large saucepan as per the packet instructions when you're nearly ready to eat.
Strain the pasta and return the pasta to the large saucepan. Pour most of the sauce into the large pot and stir through completely. Keep some sauce for garnish.
Serve in pasta bowls with a small spoon of extra sauce on top, and some grated or shaved parmesan.
Simple Instructions
In the medium saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic. After a couple of minutes add the anchovies. Cook until the mix is broken down.
Add the red wine and reduce.
Add the tomato, Veg Blocks, olives, herbs and pepper. Heat to the boil and then simmer for 20-40 mins.
Cook the pasta.
Mix the sauce through pasta (save a little bit of the sauce for serving).
Serve with a small amount of extra sauce on top, and some grated or shaved parmesan.
Recipe Note
*Red Blocks are the ideal option, but any will work. If you don't have any Red Blocks, use Orange or Rainbow as a first alternative. There is also no issue with using a mix of different Veg Blocks.
**An alternative for the wine is 1/4 cup red wine vinegar.
***If you have a small food processor, you can use this for the anchovies and olives.
Choose a pasta shape like spirals or wagon wheels that will hold lots of the sauce in each forkful. This sauce is super healthy and tasty, so you want to make it easy to eat lots of it!