Fresh Eggplant and Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

So, when we saw our first tomatoes and eggplant ripen on the vine, we were stoked! When we started getting 5-10 ripe ones showing up at a time, we thought, time to make eggplant and spaghetti sauce!

This fresh eggplant and tomato spaghetti sauce starts with eggplant browned hard in olive oil, fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, and plenty of garden herbs. Red wine, Worcestershire, soy sauce, and a splash of red wine vinegar give it a little more depth than your everyday tomato sauce.

Nothing complicated. Just a good way to turn a pile of summer produce into dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant, chopped or sliced
• 1/4 cup Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), for browning eggplant
• 1/8 cup Extra-virgin olive oil for browning the onion
• 6–10 large fresh tomatoes, whole, take out the tough stem spot
• 2 cups of water to boil the tomatoes
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• Garlic, chopped, I use 4 cloves, but add to taste.
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
• ⅛ cup fresh oregano, chopped
• ⅛ cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons red wine or apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• Spaghetti, for serving

Feeling fancy? Soak whole peppercorns in a little whiskey and grind them yourself. Completely optional, but why not?

How to Make Eggplant and Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

1. Slice the eggplant, salt it, and let it sit for 10-20 min (this helps soften it and removes the bitter flavor that can come from raw eggplant). Then rinse the eggplant, dry the slices, and sauté them.
2. Brown the eggplant. Heat EVOO in a large pan (I prefer stainless or cast iron) and brown the chopped or sliced eggplant hard. You want some good color on it. Remove and set aside.
3. Cook the tomatoes. Add the whole tomatoes and 2 cups of water to a large pot. Bring to a boil and cook for 5–10 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to break down.
4. Keep that tomato water! Don’t drain the tomatoes. The tomatoes and all their cooking water stay in the pot and become the base of the sauce.
5. Brown the onion. Cook the chopped onion in a little EVOO until nicely browned. Add the garlic for the last minute and cook just until softened and fragrant.
6. Put it all together. Add the browned eggplant, onion, garlic, tomato paste, red wine, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire, soy sauce, pepper, parsley, basil, and oregano to the tomatoes.
7. Simmer for 20 min. Let the sauce simmer, uncovered, until it reaches the consistency you like. Fresh tomatoes can be juicy, so don’t worry if they look thin at first.
8. Use an immersion blender, food processor, or regular blender, and blend to your desired level of smoothness.
9. Taste and adjust. The Worcestershire, soy sauce, and tomato paste already bring some salt, so taste before adding any more.

Serve over spaghetti, zoodles, or dip sourdough bread or veggies. Add Parmesan cheese, shredded mozzeralla, and your protein of choice, if you like, and call it dinner.

A Few Easy Ways to Wing It

Use whatever ripe tomatoes you have. Roma tomatoes will make a thicker sauce, while big slicing tomatoes may need a little longer to cook down.

You can also adjust the herbs according to what’s growing. Basil is the main herb here, but parsley and oregano can move around a bit depending on what you have.

And if the garden is also throwing zucchini or peppers at you? I’d be tempted to brown those and toss them in, too.

Storing Leftover Sauce

Keep leftover sauce refrigerated, covered, for 3–4 days. It can also be frozen, although the eggplant will be softer once thawed.

Reheat it gently on the stovetop, adding a splash of water if the sauce has become too thick.

Final Thoughts

This is summer garden cooking in a pot: tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, onion, and handfuls of fresh herbs.

Brown what needs browning. Keep the tomato water. Let everything simmer.

Taste. Adjust.

And if you decide your spaghetti sauce needs whiskey-soaked peppercorns?

Well, sometimes you just wing it.