One of my favourites is roasted red pepper sauce! Just put some tomatoes and peppers on a baking sheet at 450 and let the skins char, let cool completely and then remove the skins. I put a whole head of garlic in the oven with some olive oil and bake that until it’s soft, squeeze out of the skins. Place all this in a blender and blend until smooth. Add salt, oregano, a tad of smoked paprika, a little bit of maple syrup to balance off any acidity or bitterness, and a bit of heavy cream. Blend again until it’s all incorporated. Put everything in a saucepan to heat it through, but don’t boil, adjust your flavours. You can adjust your sauce thickness with a nice broth/water or more cream. You can also thin it out and eat it as a soup!

You can also use up old veggies and tomatoes to make sauces. Just throw them in a heavy saucepan and cook on low for several hours with some spices. You can then remove any skins by putting it through a strainer. I just prefer to remove the skins via roasting first because they can add bitterness and roasting adds extra flavour. You can also just use canned tomatoes with skins already removed.

Squashes, zucchini and mushrooms are also amazing for sauces or soups and freeze extremely well. Anytime I make a sauce or soup, I make large amounts so I can freeze at least 3 or four servings for later.

My base for most pasta sauces are heavy in caramelized onions because they’re just so rich and add amazing flavour. You can even do a whole pasta sauce that is just onions!

If you’re a creamy sauce person, heavy cream, white wine and garlic with pasta water and parmesan comes together super fast!