Tomato-less Marinara Sauce

By mdancause

Ingredients

• Special equipment:
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 1" 2 (8oz/225g) 1" cubed carrots (about 2 medium)
• 3 3 1" 1 1/2 peeled, 1" cubed Butternut squash (from a 1 1/2 lb/680g squash)
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 1" cup (8oz/225g) peeled, 1" cubed red beets
• 5-6 5-6 5-6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 cups (9oz/250g) diced yellow onion (1 medium)
• 3 3 3 TBLS Ghee or other fat for frying
• 1 1 1 cup (250ml) water
• 1 1 1 cup (250ml) Merlot or Cabernet wine*
• 2 2 2 tablespoons coconut vinegar, ACV (or anyother vinegar)
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice
• 1 1/2 to 2 1 1/2 to 2 to 2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning herbs**
• 2 2 to teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
• 1 1 to teaspoon fresh cracked pepper, or more to taste
• to 1/2 to 1/2 cup of water/wine to desired consistency
• 1/4 Italian seasoning with a mix of 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh herbs such as: Basil rosemary, oregano & thyme.
• For results that are most representative of this recipe , I recommend making it by the weights listed.

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from urbanposer.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Prepare the first 5 ingredients as stated above (chopping, mincing, etc…), set the garlic and onions aside. Use a steamer or pressure cooker to cook the the carrots, butternut squash and beets together till soft (can be pierced with a skewer). This takes about 40 minutes with a stove top steamer, over a medium high heat.

While the veggie mixture is cooking, heat the ghee (or other fat) over medium heat till melted and hot. Add the prepared garlic and onions to the hot pan and cook until they are caramelized and soft (this adds extra savory flavor to the sauce and imparts flavor to the fat). Set aside until the rest of vegetables are ready.

Transfer the steamed vegetables, onion mixture, water, wine, vinegar and lemon juice to a medium sized sauce pan and blend till smooth. I prefer my immersion blender for this job. If you don't have an immersion blender, use a regular blender, then transfer the puree to a medium sauce pan.

Stir in the herbs and salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat for 15-25 minutes (longer if trying to cook out the the alcohol, we like ours a little "boozy"). Stir periodically to keep the sauce from sticking or burning to the bottom of the pan. At this point you can add more liquid to desired consistency. Consistency will vary from batch to batch.

Remove from heat. Serve immediately or pour into mason jars and let cool to room temperature. Cover and store in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. The sauce will thicken some once chilled. When ready to use, reheat over medium heat first then add more wine or water if needed.

We love to pair this sauce with our favorite grain free pasta by Cappello's. It is delicious!

For Pizza Sauce: To achieve a thicker "paste" for pizza sauce, omit 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the initial water.