Homemade Lemon, Basil & Courgette Pasta Sauce

This lemon basil courgette pasta sauce (Exploring Vegan) is a nice unique sauce for your weeknight spaghetti dishes. It takes a while (40 minutes of simmering diced onion and courgette on medium heat) but the result is a ‘jammy sauce’ you’ll want to make again and again, due to the taste.

Why Make This Recipe?

It’s not just cheap and filling, but super-tasty and very simple, from a food blogger who specialises in 5-ingredient recipes using real affordable ingredients.

Food Safety Tips

Avoid courgettes that are wrinkled or have yellow skin or black spots. Store in the fridge. Choose organic to avoid cross-pollinated seed batches that carry a toxin (Tim Dowling writes how he poisoned himself with homegrown courgettes). Keep this recipe away from pets, due to onion, garlic and salt.

Ingredients Needed?

Very simple affordable ones: lemons, fresh basil, pasta, onion and salt.

Courgettes (called ‘zucchini’ in North America) are quite popular in England, especially for Mediterranean recipes like ratatouille. Related to squash, the smallest courgettes tend to be most tasty (if not harvested, they grow into marrows).

Which Pasta to Use?

Look in stores for Yorkshire Pasta Company or The Northern Pasta Co (both are made with British wheat, and sold in plastic-free packaging).

Serve with Grated Vegan Cheese

Conventional Parmesan is not vegetarian (it contains a cheese that by law, contains calf rennet). Instead, just grate good vegan cheese over the top.

How to Recycle Empty Tins

Before recycling, always pop the lid inside the tin (or pop the ring-pull over the hole). This stops wildlife getting trapped, if they came across them.

Compost Food Scraps?

Unless you’re an expert composter, avoid composting acidic scraps (onion, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives, tomatoes, citrus, rhubarb) as this could harm compost bin creatures. Just bin them, to break down naturally.

Peaceful Politics in Action!

Making your own homemade pasta sauce, is far better than watery jarred tomato sauces. Every meal you make with natural plant-based ingredients and seasonal produce, is helping to create a country where nutritious food matters. Is affordable to everyone – and tastes good too!