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Smells Like Teen Spirit

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Tomato Pasta Sauce A Vegan Taste of Italy
Serves 4

This is one of those basics that you wonder how you ever lived without. Quick, cheap and easy, you can chuck just about anything in it to make a change! It also freezes well.

• 400g/14oz tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, trimmed and finely chopped (cooked celery adds a fantastic taste to pasta sauce but if you really hate it, use a de-seeded and finely chopped green or yellow pepper instead)
• 1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp tomato purée
• ½ tsp brown sugar
• black pepper and salt to taste

1. Heat olive oil and gently fry onion, celery/pepper and garlic until softened.
2. Add remaining ingredients and bring to the boil.
3. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
4. However, the longer you leave this to cook the better – just make sure it doesn’t stick. It’s even nicer left to cool and then used the next day.
5. Good with pasta (like penne quills, spirals) with baked potatoes or with roast veggies.

Variations
• If eating with pasta, aim for about 75g/3oz dried pasta per person. Boil up a pan of boiling water, add pasta and a sprinkle of salt. Check packet to see how long it takes to cook – usually 10-12 minutes, depending on size and thickness.
• Add cooked chickpeas or brown lentils for a thicker ‘meatier’ sauce. You can used the tinned sort – just drain and rinse in cold water in a colander to get rid of the starchy liquid.
• Add soya mince (use either Realeat frozen veggiemince or dried soya mince soaked in a little hot water with a bit of stock cube – both types available from supermarkets. )
• Smoked or plain tofu cut into chunks. Even better if you’ve fried it first! Drain a slab of firm tofu and mop up excess dampness with kitchen paper.  Slice it longways into 2 ‘steaks’, sauté in a little sunflower oil till golden brown on each side. add a bit of shoyu in the pan and let it coat the tofu. Drain on kitchen paper. When it’s cooled a bit just slice into cubes and add to the rest of the ingredients near the end of cooking time.