The Instapot

I keep calling it that. I know it’s an Instant Pot, but still.

I adapted our original Peggy’s sauce to work in the Instapot! For future reference, here’s how I did it. I usually add at least 2 zucchini and 2 yellow squash, and 3 full cans of tomatoes, but I didn’t want to overfill the pot. This seemed to work great!

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, sliced
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1/2 bulb garlic, peeled and chopped
• big handful dried basil
• big handful oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 1/2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed with your hands do this one can at a time)
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup sweet vermouth or red wine
• 1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1 yellow squash, halved lengthwise and sliced
• Salt

Press the SAUTE button on the Instant Pot. Heat the olive oil in the Instant Pot. When hot, sauté the onion, carrots, and celery, until softened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and bay leaf, and sauté for a couple minutes more. Add the vermouth and the mushrooms and stir well.

Add the tomatoes from 2 1/2 cans, and the juice from just one of the cans. (You can just crush the tomatoes directly into the pot. Save the rest to use in another recipe.) Add the zucchini and yellow squash, and a good bit of salt. (You can taste the sauce at this point and add more salt as needed). Press CANCEL.

Close and seal the pot, and pressure cook on MANUAL for 10 minutes. Carefully QUICK RELEASE or allow to naturally release. Carefully open the pot, stir the sauce, then taste and adjust salt if needed.

This makes a ton! We usually eat 2 hefty portions on pasta for dinner, have 2 more for lunch leftovers, then save the rest in 3 – 4 quart-sized freezer bags. (Make sure you lay them flat to freeze so they’re easier to store!)

Source: Me and my old pal Peggy.