A tasty little tomato pasta sauce to have up your sleeve – great for getting your kids to eat veg

This is a great sauce to have up your sleeve. When it's made properly it will have a lovely, sweet flavour just like tomatoes. After your children get used to eating it, you can whiz the vegetables up a bit less each time until, eventually, you won't have to whiz it at all. This recipe makes quite a big batch. I tend to make loads at one time, let it cool completely, then bag it up and freeze it.

Heat a large saucepan (big enough to hold all the ingredients) over a medium heat. Pour in a good lug of oil then add the onions, leek, celery, peppers, courgettes, carrots and herbs. Cook the whole lot slowly for about 20 minutes with the lid on, until all the vegetables are nice and soft but without any colour at all. Add the tomatoes, squash, 500ml (17½fl oz) of water and a pinch of salt and pepper to the vegetables. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 30 minutes until the squash is soft. Fish out the bay leaves and allow the sauce to cool slightly before blitzing with a hand-held blender until nice and smooth. Have a taste and season with a little more salt and pepper if needed.