World's Healthiest Pasta Sauce

*from chefambershea.com

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Nut-Free, Oil-Free, Sugar-FreeSoy-Free Variation

Low-Calorie, Low-Fat, Low-Sodium

Per 1-cup: 88 calories, 2.9g fat (trace sat), 12.9g carbs, 3g fiber, 5g protein

Ingredients

• ½ cup vegetable broth or water
• 2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 leek, white and light green part only, cleaned and chopped
• 2 broccoli stems (or ½ cup cauliflower), roughly chopped
• 10 to 12 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
• 6 stalks celery, roughly chopped
• 4 large or 6 small carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 package button mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed
• 1 (15-oz.) can black or green olives, rinsed and drained
• 2 jarred roasted red peppers (or 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped)
• 1 medium beet, peeled and chopped (or ½ cup canned beets)
• 1 large, soft Medjool date (or 3 Deglet Noors), pitted and minced
• 1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
• 2 (28-oz.) cans whole peeled tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
• 1 (8-oz.) package organic tempeh (I didn't have any and left it out- still tasted great)
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Spike seasoning (*sub Mrs. Dash or use or sea salt to taste)
• 1 tablespoon Bragg liquid aminos (*or tamari or soy sauce)
• ½ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• ½ to 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the veggie broth or water over medium heat.
2. Place the onion and leek in a food processor and pulse until finely diced. Transfer to the pot with the broth and put the lid on.
3. Place the broccoli stems (or cauliflower) and garlic in the food processor (there's no need to clean the bowl between all these steps) and pulse until finely diced. Transfer to the pot, stir, and put the lid back on.
4. Place the celery and carrots in the food processor and pulse until finely diced. Transfer to the pot, stir, and put the lid back on.
5. Place the mushrooms in the food processor and pulse until finely diced. Transfer to the pot, stir, and put the lid back on.
6. Place the olives in the food processor and pulse until finely diced. Transfer to the pot, stir, and put the lid back on.
7. Place the red pepper(s), beet(s), date(s), and tomato paste in the food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to the pot and stir.
8. If you bought whole peeled tomatoes, pulse them in the food processor (with their juices) until roughly puréed, then transfer to the pot and stir. If you bought crushed tomatoes, pour them directly into the pot and stir.
9. Crumble the tempeh into small pieces with your hands and stir it into the pot.
10. Add the nutritional yeast to the pot and stir.
11. Add all the seasonings (Italian seasoning, Spike or Mrs. Dash, Bragg aminos, crushed red pepper, and black pepper) to the pot and stir.
12. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes, until all the veggies are completely softened and cooked through and the mixture is reduced/thickened to your liking.
13. At this point, if you didn't use Spike or Mrs. Dash seasoning, you can add sea salt to taste.
14. Remove from the heat, stir in the apple cider vinegar, and serve hot.

Notes

Soy-Free Variation: Replace the tempeh with 1 (15-oz.) can white beans (navy or cannellini beans), rinsed and drained, OR 1½ cups cooked brown/green lentils and omit the Bragg aminos or replace them with coconut aminos or sea salt to taste.

Chef's Tips:
- If you don't have a certain one of the veggies on hand, just leave it out! This recipe is VERY flexible.
- Similarly, if you want to ADD any veggies to this, be my guest! Chopped artichoke hearts or zucchini or yellow squash come to mind as great possible additions.
- One thing I do NOT recommend omitting from this recipe is the can of olives. Yes, even if you despise olives. My husband Matt can't stand them, and he had no idea they were in there—they're chopped to oblivion, so they simply add a salty, briny undertone that's fabulous and irreplaceable. Even if you don't like olives, please leave them in there!