Spaghetti with homemade vegetable Marinara canned sauce

I made different canned sauces made of vegetables and herbs from my garden, throughout the summer.

On days when I have no time or will to cook I use a sauce along with spaghetti, rice or quinoa.

In this sauce I used tomatoes, yellow, green and red peppers, onions, garlic, carrots, zucchinis, Hokkaido pumpkins and butter squash.

I used a water bath canning method of preservation. When using this method we need at least pH<4,2 of acidity in the food, not to grow the unwanted bacteria that can be dangerous for our health. We also need to sterilize the jars before canning.

Ingredients for the canned Marinara sauce:

• 10 kg of tomatoes
• 65 g of kosher salt
• 3 dl of olive oil
• 3 kg of green, yellow and red peppers (mostly yellow)
• 0.5 kg of yellow and red onions
• 1 garlic head
• 1 kg of zucchini
• 0.5 kg of carrots
• 0.5 kg of butternut squash
• a bunch of fresh herbs; parsley, basil, thyme, oregano, celery leaves, marjoram
• black pepper to taste
• 100 g of sugar
• 70 ml of white wine vinegar
• 1 dl of olive oil

Preparation:

1. Clean and roughly cut the tomatoes. Place them in a big pot and add salt and 1 dl of oil.
   Cook it for about 1 hour with a lid on, at low heat and occasionally stir it. After one hour take off the lid and cook for another 30 minutes. The tomatoes will first loose water and it will start to get a saucy structure while the liquid is evaporating out.
2. Clean green, yellow and red peppers and drizzle them with a bit of olive oil. Place it on the baking tray and roast in the oven at 240 C for 15-20 minutes. Set aside.
3. Chop the onions and place them in a separate big pot with 2 dl of olive oil and cook until translucent.
4. Clean and roughly cut carrots and add them to the pot. Add roasted peppers and cook at low heat while mixing occasionally.
5. Clean and chop garlic and add it to the pot. Cook it for another 5 minutes while mixing.
6. Add cooked tomato sauce.
7. Peel and cut zucchini and squash and add it to the pot. Simmer it for 30 minutes with a lid on, stirring occasionally.
8. Add 70 ml of white wine vinegar and 100 g of sugar. Boil it for another 10 minutes.
9. Add fresh chopped herbs and black pepper.
10. Fill the hot sauce into the hot sterilized jars, and pour a bit of olive oil on top to prevent the oxidation. Clean the edge of the jars and close them with a lid. Place them in a hot water bath and cook for 45 minutes.
    Cool it down slowly and keep it in a dark and cold place for up to a year.