Arabiatta sauce is a spicy marinara sauce that literally means “angry sauce” in Italian.

We have had pasta with arabiatta sauce many times at local Italian restaurant The Pastaria & Market.  Their popular arabiatta sauce has meat but they do make a vegetarian version that is out of this world delicious and spicy!!!  

The inspiration for my homemade arabiatta sauce

The inspiration for this vegetarian pasta sauce is from the restaurant and came from my neighbor’s bounty of homegrown vegetables, which included a few spicy peppers, organic heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, eggplants, bell peppers, and squash. I decided to make an Italian spicy marinara sauce called arabiatta sauce.

Spicy Vegetarian Arabiatta Sauce with Heirloom Tomatoes, Eggplant, Peppers & Squash
This recipe makes approximately 8-10 jars of vegetable arabiatta sauce.

Ingredients:

• 3 medium sized eggplants – about 5-6 cups
• 3 medium sized squash – about 5-6 cups
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• Spicy peppers if you have as many as you want
• 8 -10 cups fresh chopped heirloom tomatoes
• 3 garlic heads – use all the cloves and chop them finely
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp chili flakes
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp Herbs de Provence or any Italian herbs of your choice. Herbs de Provence is an Italian herb blend. If you can’t find Herbs de Provence, use 2 tsp oregano, 2 tsp fennel powder, 2 tsp thyme, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp parsley powder, and 1 tsp rosemary, plus 1 tsp paprika.
• 2 tbsp garlic powder. Garlic powder is made with de-hydrated garlic which gives the garlic powder an almost roasted garlic flavor that is real nice.
• 1 15oz can tomato sauce (for the red color and some sourness – optional).  I found some of the varieties of tomatoes Jim my neighbor gave me were so red inside that I didn’t need to add the tomato sauce.
• 3-4 tbsp brown sugar – brings out the flavors of the tomatoes
• 2-4 tbsp lemon juice
• 10-12 Fresh basil leaves

Directions:

• Finely cut squash, eggplant and peppers.  Cutting the vegetables really small brings out the veggie flavors, cooks faster, and the veggies become part of the marinara sauce rather than having big chunks of veggies in the sauce.

• In a large pot heat olive oil.  Add the garlic and sauté for about 2-3 minutes to bring out the garlic flavors.  Add chili flakes and toast in garlic oil for about a minute.

• Next add all the chopped vegetables, not the tomatoes.  Add salt (about 3 tsp) and black pepper and toss together. Cook vegetables either covered or left open in the pot for about 15 minutes until veggies are tender.
• My veggies cooked very fast as I had just received a big batch of freshly picked homegrown vegetables from my neighbor.

• The veggies should look like a stew when cooked.

• Add all the freshly chopped tomatoes.  Cook covered for 30 minutes until tomatoes become tender and release their juices.

• Now add the canned tomato sauce, brown sugar, herbs de Provence, and fresh basil. Cook for an additional 15 minutes.  Taste and adjust for salt.  Add lemon juice and stir in.

• Vegetarian Arabiatta Sauce is ready.

• Serve spicy arabiatta sauce with spaghetti or any pasta of your choice.

Buon Appetito! 🍝 🍅