Adding To The Pasta Sauce

This is not my kid... I just love this picture.

Frequently spaghetti and sauce graces our table - as I'm sure it does on many other tables. It's fast, a reliable kid-pleaser, and fairly hearty. However, serving spaghetti, tomato sauce, and a salad does not include that essential G for Growing - protein. Not in any amount substantial enough to satiate a nursing mom anyway.

I was making pasta sauce the other night and hit upon the idea of using some cooked beans leftover from a previous dinner. The whole sauce was based around what I had that needed to be used - eggplant and what not. On the whole, it worked out really well. I could have added zucchini, spinach, or any other veggies if I had them. The beans and cream gave the sauce a richness and a velvety texture not usually found in a veggie sauce. Added benefit - the kids liked this sauce way more than they like plain red sauce!



Vegetable-Bean Pasta Sauce

In olive oil sauté
1 onion - chopped
3 garlic cloves - chopped
2 sm. eggplant - cubed
(other veggies would go here)
Basil
Oregano
Parsley

Add
15-20 oz. canned tomatoes
1 c white wine
1 c water

Cook until the vegetables are soft through.

Puree in a food processor with
1 1/2 cups cooked red or white beans (one can of beans would be fine too)
1 cup cream
Salt and pepper
Until everything is blended together. Adjust the thickness of the sauce with water reserved from cooking the pasta.

Pass with asiago.

Added possibility - adding extra beans and a half cup of asiago will make a thick Italian style bean dip! Tasty on bruschetta...