What you need

Method

First prepare the vegetables - peel and roughly chop the onion, carrots and leek, de-seed and chop the peppers, peel and crush the garlic. 

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over a low heat. Add the chopped onion and gently cook for a few minutes until starting to soften. Add the chopped carrots, leek, red peppers and crushed garlic and stir to coat in the oil.  

Cover the saucepan with a lid and gently cook for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are beginning to soften. 

Add the two tins of chopped tomatoes, red lentils, mixed herbs and 400ml of boiling water to the pan. Stir to combine, then bring to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes or so until everything is cooked through. 

Remove the pan from the heat, stir through the balsamic vinegar and leave to cool a little. 

Blend until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add a little extra boiling water until it is at your preferred consistency. 

Serve with cooked pasta shapes and freeze any leftover sauce in portions. 

Notes: 

Packed with healthy veggies, this sauce is perfect for batch cooking - just double or triple the recipe qualities to prepare multiple meals at a time. 

If using from frozen, defrost overnight in the fridge and heat in a pan to piping hot before using, or defrost and heat from frozen in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop. 

Recipe by @eatsamazing.