Ragu Begone!

There is something genuinely satisfying about chopping up a bunch of vegetables. It's kind of like chopping up a whole chicken successfully, yet different.

Some time last year I stopped buying spaghetti sauce. Some time Saturday night, between bar stops, my best batch of sauce yet was created. There is still a notch out of my left index finger to prove it.

Super Chunky Pasta Sauce

Heat a splash of olive oil in a deep skillet. Add 5-6 large cloves of garlic as finely chopped as you can manage (without adding fingers to the skillet), 1/2 onion chopped, 1/2 green pepper chopped, 1/2 red pepper chopped, a handful of fresh mushrooms thick sliced (baby bellas!), 1/4 cup fresh oregano finely chopped, 1/4 cup fresh parsely finely chopped and 1/4 cup fresh basil finely chopped. If you don't have the fresh versions of the herbs use a few good teaspoons of dried. Salt and pepper it all to taste.

Once you've got your saute on and everything smells great and is tender, dump in a couple of cans (15 oz size) of fire-roasted chopped tomatoes (don't drain) and a small can of tomato paste (the teeny tiny can). You "could" run the tomatoes through a food processor to smooth them out if you wanted, but seriously...why? Let it all simmer together on low heat while you get the rest of the meal together!

Great on gnocchi, ravioli, any pasta, and for my gluten-free friends - just add to some nicely cooked chicken! Actually if I was eating it straight with chicken maybe a splash or two of red pepper flakes would be nice to wake it up a bit?