Zucchini sauce for preserving or freezing

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 2 ½ kg zucchini, net weight, color doesn’t matter
• 1 can of tomatoes, approx. 400 g
• 1 tube(s) Tomato paste with seasoned vegetables, 200 g
• 1 vegetable onion(s)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 4 sprigs of oregano
• 400 ml vegetable stock
• e.g. salt and pepper
• 1 chili pepper(s)
• 1 tbsp paprika powder, hot
• 50 ml oil for frying

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 15 minutes

for the zucchini glut, vegan

Do you have a zucchini glut and can’t stand the sight of stuffed zucchini or zucchini salad anymore? Then here’s a suggestion for using it up. Wash the zucchini, trim off the ends, halve them, scoop out the core with a spoon, and cut into pieces (about 3 cm cubes). Now weigh 2.5 kg. Peel the onion and chop it finely. Cut off the root part of the garlic and press it flat with a knife. Then peel off the skin and roughly chop if necessary. Wash the herbs and tie them together with cotton string. Fry half of the zucchini cubes in a little oil and then add the onions. When everything is slightly sweated, add all the tomato paste and cook briefly. When the zucchini starts to stick together, deglaze with the canned tomatoes. Break up the tomatoes in the pot with a spatula and stir everything in well. Add the garlic, the bundle of herbs, salt, pepper, and the chili pepper to the pot. Add 400 ml of vegetable stock and bring everything to a boil. Stir well and then simmer gently. After about 30 minutes, season to taste and remove the chili pepper and the bundle of herbs. Add more salt and pepper if desired. Puree everything finely. While the sauce is cooking, fry the other half of the zucchini cubes in oil and season with salt, pepper, and paprika. Add the fried zucchini cubes to the pureed sauce and simmer for at least 5 minutes. Continue simmering until the desired consistency is reached. If the sauce is used immediately, you can thicken it with flour or cornstarch if necessary. If freezing or canning, thicken only when needed. Preserving the sauce: Boiling: Rinse jars with hot water, pour in the sauce, and seal the jars. Then boil for 45 minutes at 90 degrees Celsius. Remove from the water and let cool. After one day, remove the clips and check that the lid stays closed. Shelf life: at least 1 year. Freezing: Let the sauce cool, pour into suitable bowls or freezer bags, let as much air out as possible, and seal. Then freeze. Shelf life: at least 1 year. Serving hot: I pour the sauce into sterilized and hot-rinsed jars with twist-off lids and let them cool upside down. It then keeps for at least 6 months for me. Serving suggestion: Vegan – simply with pasta or rice. Meat-based: Brown the minced meat until crumbly and season, then deglaze with the sauce and serve with pasta or rice.