Winter Veg Sauce

I made this for the first time a year ago and LOVED it.  I have modified it a bit to suit our own tastes.  You can find Tribeca Yummy Mummy's Winter Vegetable Tomato Sauce over on her blog.
Here's how I do ours ....

1 big red onion, diced

4 carrots, peeled & shredded

2 parsnips, peeled & shredded

5 cloves of garlic, diced (adjust to suit your garlic tastes)

olive oil

pinch of salt

dash of garlic powder

fresh herbs ... oregano, basil, thyme

4 x 400g cans crushed tomatoes

2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes

salt and pepper, to taste

brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon (or more)

honey, to taste

Saute garlic and onion in olive oil, in a large, heavy bottom pot, until garlic begins to brown and onion is translucent. Add carrots and parsnips, pinch of salt and cook til veggies are soft. Add herbs.  Let cook just while you open up the cans of tomatoes.

Stir in the tomatoes and garlic powder. Bring this sauce to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low and partially cover. Let simmer for an hour or longer, stirring every 15- 20 minutes. Taste as you go. After a while, once the sauce has cooked down some, add the brown sugar and/or honey.  You don't want it super sweet but the sugar/honey give a great flavor and cuts down on the acidity in the tomatoes. 

Season with salt and pepper.

Done.

Serve over pasta, gnocchi (that recipe coming this week !), in a calzone, as a pizza sauce, on a baked potato !  The options are only limited by your imagination ...