Pasta with Sausage, Spinach, and Veggie Tomato Sauce

Serves 4

Pasta Sauce

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 small white onion, roughly chopped

2 large carrots, roughly chopped

2-3 large celery stalks, sliced

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 small zucchini, roughly chopped

1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes

3 oz. tomato paste

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/3-1/2 cup vegetable Broth, white wine, or water

Salt and pepper to taste

Additional Ingredients

1 lb. dry pasta (your choice!)

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2-4 links precooked chicken Italian sausages, sliced

4-6 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

  1. For the sauce, heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery, and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  2. Add zucchini and garlic, and cook for another 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies are all cooked through.

  3. Add all remaining sauce ingredients, cover with lid, and bring to a gentle simmer. Let simmer over low heat for 10-20 minutes to make sure everything is cooked all the way through.

  4. Using an immersion blender, puree the entire sauce mixture, and then simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

  5. Meanwhile, while the sauce is simmering, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, keep warm, and set aside.

  6. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add sliced sausages, and cook for about 3-4 minutes to brown on all sides. Add the spinach and saute until just wilted, about 3-5 minutes. Keep warm and set aside.

  7. Toss the pasta with with sausage and spinach mixture and serve with sauce.

Tips

  • For the pasta sauce, you may need to add more liquid to make sure this mixture is not too thick. Feel free to add more water, stock, or wine if you need to.

  • An immersion blender (also called a stick blender) is going to be the easiest way to puree everything for this recipe, but you can also transfer the mixture to a traditional blender if you do not have an immersion blender (although this will be much more challenging to do!)

  • If the mixture does not have enough tomato flavor after pureeing with all of the vegetables, feel free to stir in additional tomato paste.

  • You may use any type of pasta you want for this recipe.

Ben Mastracco