When I have plenty of zucchini, ripe tomatoes and red peppers on hand, one of my favourite ways to use them is to make homemade vegetable salsa. I make a large batch straight away, because it is ideal for transferring to jars and heat-processing.
I most often use it later as a quick spaghetti sauce, but there are many more possibilities. It goes well with other pasta dishes, meatballs, casseroles and pizza, and also works beautifully as a sauce for stuffed cabbage rolls.
My salsa is based on zucchini, tomatoes and a generous amount of red pepper. I season it with herbs, sweet and hot paprika, and a small amount of smoked paprika. That last ingredient does not turn the salsa into barbecue sauce, but gives it a more interesting, slightly deeper aroma.
This is also one of those recipes where it really pays to take your largest pot out of the cupboard. There are plenty of vegetables, but cooking and reducing them considerably decreases their volume.
Why salsa rather than an ordinary tomato sauce?
I could simply call this recipe spaghetti sauce, but that would not quite do justice to everything in the pot.
Zucchini makes up the largest share of the vegetables, but there are also plenty of tomatoes and a whole kilogram of red peppers. Each vegetable plays a slightly different role. Zucchini provides texture and volume, tomatoes bring flavour and acidity, and red peppers add sweetness, aroma and colour.
The result is a thick vegetable and tomato sauce that I use as a base. Only after opening a jar do I decide what to make with it. One day it might be spaghetti, the next meatballs in sauce, and another time the salsa will go over stuffed cabbage rolls.
Which tomatoes do I use?
For me, ripe, fleshy tomatoes work best.
Lima-type plum tomatoes are a very good choice. They have plenty of flesh and relatively little water, so I do not need to spend as long reducing the sauce later.
If I have good raspberry tomatoes, I am happy to use those too. Just remember that they usually contain more juice, so cooking may take a little longer.
I peel the tomatoes. I score a shallow cross in each one, pour boiling water over them, then transfer them to cold water after a short while. The skins usually slip off easily after this.
Of course, you could point out that everything will be blended later anyway. That is true, but even finely chopped pieces of skin can be noticeable in the finished sauce. I prefer to spend a few extra minutes removing them beforehand.
How do I prepare the zucchini?
Young zucchini needs the least preparation. I wash it thoroughly, trim off the ends and chop it with the skin on. Large, overgrown zucchini can also be used. If the skin has become tough, I peel it. I also remove the soft centre containing large seeds. Only then do I weigh the vegetable.
For this recipe I use 2 kg of prepared zucchini. There is no need to worry too much about the shape of the pieces. The vegetables will be cooked for quite a while and then blended.
Red pepper makes a real difference here
For 2 kg of zucchini, I use 1 kg of red peppers. That is a generous amount, but it gives the salsa a much more interesting character. The peppers bring natural sweetness, aroma and a richer colour.
I definitely choose red peppers here. Green peppers have a very different flavour and could introduce unwanted bitterness. I cut the peppers open, remove the seeds and white membranes, and chop them into smaller pieces.
A touch of smoked paprika
This is one of the ingredients that sets my version apart from the simplest zucchini sauces. Alongside ordinary sweet and hot paprika, I add one teaspoon of smoked paprika. No more. I want its aroma to be subtly noticeable in the background, without dominating the whole pot. The salsa should still taste of tomatoes, zucchini and fresh peppers. This small amount of smoked paprika works especially well when I later use the sauce with meat, meatballs or stuffed cabbage rolls.
How much sugar do I add?
I do not stick to a single figure with absolute precision here.
I start with 180 g of sugar and taste the sauce towards the end of cooking. If the tomatoes are very acidic, I may increase the amount to around 220 g. However, I do not want the salsa to become overly sweet. It should still be a vegetable sauce rather than homemade ketchup.
I take a similar approach to hot paprika: I add less at first, then more if needed. With vinegar, I do things differently. If I am making the full batch for jars, I add the entire 85 ml of vinegar specified in the recipe.
I have collected the exact quantities and full preparation method below.
Homemade Zucchini, Tomato and Red Pepper Salsa
6-7
jars of 500 ml40
minutes2
hours300
kcalA thick homemade salsa made with zucchini, ripe tomatoes and red peppers, seasoned with herbs and a small amount of smoked paprika. I use it as a sauce for spaghetti, other pasta dishes, stuffed cabbage rolls, meatballs, casseroles and more.
Ingredients
2 kg prepared zucchini
1.3 kg ripe tomatoes, preferably Lima or raspberry tomatoes
1 kg red peppers
250 ml vegetable oil or olive oil
85 ml spirit vinegar with 10% acidity
180–220 g sugar
2 level tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1–2 teaspoons hot paprika
about 1/3 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
I score a cross in the tomatoes, blanch them in boiling water and remove the skins. I chop them into smaller pieces.
I cut the peppers open, remove the seeds and white membranes, and dice them.
I wash young zucchini thoroughly and chop it with the skin on. From larger zucchini, I remove the tough skin and the centres containing large seeds. I weigh out 2 kg of prepared zucchini.
I place the zucchini, tomatoes and peppers in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. I add the salt and stir thoroughly. If I have time, I leave the vegetables for around an hour so they start releasing their juices.
I place the pot over a low heat. I cook the vegetables uncovered, stirring regularly. They should soften completely, and a good deal of the water needs to evaporate. This usually takes around 1–1.5 hours.
I blend the softened vegetables. There is no need to make a perfectly smooth purée. I prefer to leave a little texture in the salsa.
I add the vegetable oil or olive oil, herbes de Provence, oregano, sweet, hot and smoked paprika, and freshly ground pepper.
I pour in 85 ml of spirit vinegar with 10% acidity and add 180 g of sugar. I stir thoroughly and taste. If the sauce is too acidic for me, I gradually increase the sugar to around 220 g.
I cook everything uncovered for another 25–30 minutes, stirring regularly. After blending, the salsa is much thicker and can stick to the bottom more easily.
I transfer the hot salsa to clean, scalded jars, leaving around 1.5–2 cm of headspace. I wipe the rims thoroughly and screw on the lids.
I line the bottom of a large pot with a cloth. I arrange the jars so they do not touch one another, and pour in hot water to roughly three-quarters of their height.
I heat-process 500 ml jars for around 20 minutes, starting the timing when the water comes to a gentle boil.
I carefully remove the jars and place them on a towel to cool completely. Once cool, I check the lids. They should be concave and should not click when pressed.
Tip: After opening a jar, I keep it in the fridge and use it within a few days.
The easiest spaghetti sauce
This is probably the most obvious use. I love pasta, noodles and the whole flour-based family, whatever anyone happens to call them.
When I need a quick dinner, I sauté a finely chopped onion in a frying pan. Towards the end I add fresh garlic, then pour in the salsa. Meanwhile, I cook the pasta. On the plate I can add a little Parmesan, fresh basil or oregano, and dinner is essentially ready.
If I want a heartier version, I first brown minced meat with onion and garlic. Only then do I add the salsa and let everything simmer together over a low heat for a few minutes.
That is exactly why I do not add onion and garlic directly to the salsa. I prefer to do that later, when preparing a particular dish. This keeps the contents of the jar more versatile.
Zucchini salsa for stuffed cabbage rolls
This is a use worth remembering, and it was my mum who suggested it. The salsa works wonderfully as a tomato and vegetable sauce for stuffed cabbage rolls. It already contains tomatoes, peppers and herbs, and has the right consistency. The easiest option is to transfer it to a saucepan and heat it up. If it is too thick, I add a little stock.
I can also make a milder version. I add a little cream to the hot sauce and stir thoroughly. This produces a creamy tomato and vegetable sauce that goes beautifully with the cabbage and filling.
With stuffed cabbage rolls, that small addition of smoked paprika really comes into its own. It does not dominate, but gives the sauce a little more character.
Salsa for meatballs
Instead of preparing a separate tomato sauce for meatballs, I can also reach for a jar of salsa. I first brown or bake the meatballs, then transfer them to the heated sauce. I simmer everything together for around fifteen minutes.
If the salsa is too thick, I add a little stock. Here too, I can add fresh garlic, oregano, basil or chilli. It all depends on the flavour I want to give the dish.
Can I use it for pizza?
For several years I worked as a pizza maker, making pizzas with my own signature tomato sauce, so for pizza I definitely prefer a sauce made specifically for that purpose. I have my own tried-and-tested recipe and remain faithful to it when making pizza.
That does not mean zucchini salsa cannot work here at all. If I have half a jar left after making dinner and happen to be making pizza, I can happily use it instead of throwing it away.
The salsa is more vegetable-based, though, and usually thinner than my pizza sauce. So I first transfer it to a wide frying pan and reduce it for a few minutes. I can also add a little oregano or basil to give it more of a pizza-style flavour.
It is not my usual pizza sauce, but it works very well as a way of using up leftover salsa. After all, good sauce is too precious to waste. 🍕
How about a quick leczo?
The salsa already contains three ingredients that are perfect for leczo, a pepper and vegetable stew: zucchini, peppers and tomatoes. All I need to do is fry some onion with sausage, add the salsa and heat everything together. If I have extra fresh pepper or zucchini on hand, I chop it and add it to the pan too.
Of course, this is not a classic leczo made from scratch, but when I want a quick dinner, it works very well.
How thick should the salsa be?
I am not trying to turn it into tomato paste. The salsa will thicken a little more as it cools, so I stop cooking when it is slightly thinner than the final consistency I want.
I do not get too attached to the cooking time given in the recipe either. Zucchini can vary greatly in water content, and the same is true of tomatoes. Fleshy Lima tomatoes will behave differently from very juicy raspberry tomatoes.
If the salsa is too thin, I simply cook it uncovered for longer. The consistency of what is in the pot matters more than the hands of the clock.
How do I heat-process the salsa in jars?
- I transfer the finished salsa to jars while it is still very hot.
- I leave around 1.5–2 cm of headspace, wipe the rims thoroughly and screw on the lids.
- I place a cloth at the bottom of a large pot, then arrange the jars on it so they do not touch one another. I pour in hot water to roughly three-quarters of their height.
- I bring the water to a gentle boil and, from that point, heat-process the 500 ml jars for around 20 minutes.
- After processing, I carefully remove them and place them on a towel.
- Once they have cooled completely, I check the lids. Each lid should be concave and should not click when pressed with a finger.
- If a jar has not sealed, I put it in the fridge and use it first.
One jar, many possibilities
This is what I like most about this salsa. I am not making a sauce that can only be used for one particular dish. Instead, I get a versatile vegetable base whose final flavour I can adjust while making dinner.
I can add minced meat and make spaghetti. I can heat the salsa and pour it over stuffed cabbage rolls. I can put meatballs in it, use it in a casserole, reduce it for pizza or treat it as the starting point for a quick leczo.
And in one go, I use up 2 kg of zucchini, over a kilogram of tomatoes and a kilogram of red peppers. These are exactly the recipes I like best. A little work with a large pot, and later all I need to do is reach for a jar: half the dinner preparation is already done. 🍅🥒🌶️