As summer rapidly comes to a close here in Canada, I fondly look back on all the delicious local food we were able to enjoy. Every year, there are some recipes on the blog that my wife Mia and I love to remake when the right vegetables are in season. Some of our favorites include Fresh Tomato Sauce with Bocconcini & Garlic Bread and Savory Corn Pancake. This year, when we made the Fresh Tomato Sauce, it hit particularly hard.

One summer evening, our fridge was basically empty—we were running on fumes. I looked in the fridge and found a good bit of Roma tomatoes, some mascarpone, and a variety of leftover veggies from other recipes. Feeling inspired by the delicious fresh tomato sauce we had the week before, I decided to create a new iteration—one packed with other in-season veggies.

Two main elements really make this recipe stand out. First is the addition of fresh sweet corn. It adds little bursts of sweetness to balance out the acidity of the sauce. Additionally, the mascarpone ties together all the delicate flavors with an underlying, delicious creaminess. There’s a good bit of upfront chopping for this recipe, but the result is well worth it. I hope you have the chance to try this bright, delicious recipe soon!

Active time: 40 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 8-10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 3 lbs Roma tomatoes, stem base removed & diced
• 2 ears of yellow sweet corn, kernels cut from the cob
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 small eggplant, diced*
• 1.5 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (nooch)
• 100g mascarpone
• 1 bunch of basil, leaves removed
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• Favorite pasta, for serving

Directions:

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil, yellow onion, garlic, and a generous pinch of salt. Sauté, stirring frequently for 10-12 minutes until the onion is translucent and beginning to brown slightly.
2. Add in the tomatoes, corn, red bell pepper, carrots, eggplant, salt, nutritional yeast, and red pepper flakes. Turn the heat to high until the mixture begins to simmer. At first, it may seem like there isn’t enough liquid for a sauce, but as the ingredients cook, the sauce will form. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook with the lid ajar for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. After 25 minutes, the veggies should be tender and the sauce should have formed. Stir in the mascarpone, basil, and white wine vinegar. Taste and adjust for salt and acidity, if necessary. Finish with a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper.
4. Serve hot over your favorite type of pasta and enjoy!

*Note: I like to use fairy tale eggplants. These are small eggplants that can be hard to find outside of farmers markets. If you can find them, they are wonderful, and the recipe needs about 350g of them.