Veggie Foodie

Ingredients:

Marinara sauce

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) tomato sauce
• 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) diced tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried basil leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Salt to taste

Other ingredients

• 8 oz (225 g) Tortellini, such as Trader Joe’s Tortellini with cheese / pesto / eggplant filling
• 2 medium Italian eggplants, cut in 1 inch pieces
• 2 zucchinis, sliced
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano (optional)

Method:

Marinara sauce

1. Heat oil in a sauce pan
2. Add minced garlic and bay leaves and fry till garlic turns light brown in color (5-10 seconds)
3. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried basil leaves, chili powder, sugar and salt and bring to boil
4. Reduce to low heat and let the sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes, while regularly stirring, till it thickens

The rest of the steps:

1. Cook tortellini in boiling water till desired softness
2. Heat oil in a pan
3. Add eggplant, zucchini and celery to the oil with some salt and stir fry for 3-4 minutes to desired softness
4. Optionally, you could sprinkle some dried oregano on the vegetables
5. Serve tortellini and vegetables on a plate with generous portion of marinara sauce poured on the top

Serves: 4

Remarks:

Instead of making your own marinara sauce, you could use ready-made pasta sauce and one of our favorites is Trader Joe’s Three Cheese pasta sauce!