Italian NoMato Sauce - 2 Ways

I kept reading about this Nomato sauce and how everyone loved it. I wasn't too sure about this one as I've been duped before but enough time on Strict AIP and you're willing to try anything to keep it interesting. I'm so glad I did!

The first time I made this, I butchered the entire recipe. I was reading everything wrong. It turned out to be a good thing! From there, I experimented some more and further fine tuned it to our taste. I discovered that roasting the vegetables created a thicker sauce more like a tomato paste and using the pressure cooker keeps all the moisture in and creates a thinner sauce like a spaghetti sauce. This is the recipe I came up with and it's so much closer to regular tomato sauce than any other I've tried since.

Everyone likes a different amount of salt so we always sprinkle the garlic salt on our food after it's been served. It makes a huge flavor difference so don't forget it!

This also freezes well, so you can bulk cook this one, having it on hand for those nights you wish you could just heat and eat.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp + Olive Oil (for version 1 only)

1 Butternut Squash

1 Beet

2 Carrots (purple, yellow or orange)

½ Med Red Onion, diced

3 Cloves Fresh Garlic, minced

2 C Bone Broth or Vegetable Broth

½ C Red Cooking Wine (or Marsala)

2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

2 Tbsp Basil, dried
1 tsp Salt

1 Bay Leaf

Garlic Salt, season to taste once plated.

Directions:

Version 1: For a Thicker Sauce like Tomato Paste

1. Peel the Squash and Beets, then cut them into 1 inch chunks, lightly coat with Olive Oil and roast in oven until soft, 45 – 60 min.
2. In a pan add a Tbls Olive Oil, add the Onion and Garlic; saute until tender, about 10 min.
3. Peel and Grate the Carrots, then add them to the pan with the Red Wine and 1 Cup of the Broth. Cover and cook for 15 min., stirring occasionally.
4. Transfer everything from the pan to a food processor or blender. Add the Squash, Beets, Red Wine Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Italian Seasoning and Basil. Blend until smooth.
5. Return the mixture to the pan. Add the Bay Leaf and simmer uncovered for 15 min or until it's the desired thickness. You can add more broth to thin it out or cook longer to thicken.
6.  Remove the Bay Leaf before serving.

Version 2: For a Smoother Sauce like Spaghetti Sauce

1. Peel the Squash, Beets and Carrots, then cut them into 1 inch chunks (there is no need to roast them for this sauce)
2. Add all of the ingredients to a pressure cooker or an Instant Pot.
3. Set for 12 min and do a QR (Quick Release).
4. Remove the Bay Leaf
5. Use a hand immersion blender to blend until smooth.

Suggestions:

* Serve with meatballs.
* Serve over chicken.

* Make meatloaf and smother with the sauce before serving.

* Serve sauce over zoodles (zucchini noodles).

* Experiment with adding more veggies like mushrooms or cauliflower.

* Use a mandoline to cut zucchini thin. Coat in salt to remove moisture, for about 10 min., rinse and     layer with meat and sauce for a lasagna.

* Garnish with fresh chopped herbs; Parsley or Basil.

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