Sauce verses Gravy or is it a Salsa? -Arthur’s Rotini with a tomato, zucchini, onion, and garlic sauce!

Nothing taste better and is more filling than a homemade sauce on pasta but I become confused as to what is should be called? I prefer mine to be chunky with loads of fresh veggies that are not too cooked down. Is it a sauce, a salsa, or a gravy?  Most of us are confused when Italians call sauces “gravy”.  Simply put, a sauce is quickly made. A Salsa, in Italian, refers to a semi-liquid cooked tomato based sauce that is used as a condiment. A Sauce tomate is one of the five mother sauces of classical French cooking.  And then there is a ragu’. A ragu’ is a meat sauce that is cooked for a long time. Ok. I am more confused as I research this. It seems to be a regional thing so don’t worry about what you call it. As long as it good and fresh!

Arthur’s Rotini with a tomato, zucchini , onion, and garlic sauce!

-One large can of cooked tomatoes. To save time I used a can of cooked sliced tomatoes and zucchini

-Fresh Garlic, dried oregano, thyme, one onion, olive oil, bay leaves

-Pasta of choice. I used a whole wheat rotini. In the pasta water I add about a tablespoon of olive oil. I also dropped in a few peeled garlic cloves. When the pasta is ready the garlic is soft and delicious!

1) In a dutch oven over medium heat add enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Add a few tablespoons of butter and a few bay leaves.

2) Once the butter has melted add the sliced garlic and onions. Stir to coat with the butter and oil.

3) Once the onions have wilted and softened add the can of tomatoes and zucchini. Add you herbs of choice. Increase the heat to medium-high.

4) Cook until the zucchini and tomatoes begin to fall apart. Probably about 20 minutes. Use a potato masher to break up the tomatoes. You may add about one cup of pasta water from cooking the rotini as the starch will help to thicken the sauce.

5) While the sauce is cooking I rolled out some crescent rolls (from a can) and sprinkled them with an Italian seasoning mix. Rolled them up and baked them.

6) Once the sauce has cooked down a little more its ready! Ladle over the pasta with some of those garlic cloves which were boiled with the pasta!

Now that you are totally stuffed – take the dog for a walk around the neighborhood and check out all the Spring blooms!

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