Tomato Free Marinara

Hello dear people of blogland!  I hope you are all enjoying a fabulous end of summer and taking advantage of the long days while they last.

Over the past couple of weekends, I had the pleasure of conducting a series of hands-on cooking classes for groups of fabulous participants. The theme of the class series was Foods to Fight Inflammation.

During the fermentation class, we made pickles, sauerkraut, rejuvalac and almond cheese and talked all about the goodness of probiotics.

Demonstrating how to use the pastry bag to pipe almond cheese.
Pickle and sauerkraut creations are front and center.

The other class focused on culinary herbs, spices, good fats and what foods to eat and which to avoid for optimal health. Included in that class were curried collard wraps, carrot ginger soup, chocolate avocado mousse tart and tomato free marinara with zucchini noodles. The tomato free marinara drew in quite a bit of attention when I posted photos on instagram, and I promised that after class, I would post the recipe. Gotta keep some of the mystery alive!

Me with my beautiful class showing off their delicious creations. 

So, for all those who commented and questioned, here is the tomato free marinara recipe you've been drooling over.  If you make it, please comment on this post and let me know what you think!  Everyone in class was in awe of how deliciously close to real marinara it tasted.

Tomato Free Marinara

For variation, use butternut or kabocha squash in place of carrots, or a 50/50 mix. Have fun with texture - Saute your favorite vegetables such as diced onion, carrot and celery to add after blending, add lentils for a bolognese type sauce, mix in greens, peas or mushrooms for a heartier sauce. Experiment with seasoning by using your favorite herbs and spices to give a new dimension with every batch of sauce.

Close up of the tomato free marinara with zucchini noodles.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small beet, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

1 clove garlic

1 Cup spring water

⅛ teaspoon salt, optional - can sub splash of tamari

1 small bay leaf

1 Tablespoon umeboshi paste or vinegar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

Directions

1. Heat oil in skillet and saute onion until translucent. Add beets, carrots, garlic, water, salt and bay leaf and simmer, covered, over low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until veggies are soft. Remove bay leaf.

2. Place vegetables, cooking water and remaining ingredients in blender. Puree ingredients, slowly adding more water if needed until desired consistency is reached.

3. Adjust seasoning, return to pan and add any additional ingredients you’d like to complete your sauce.

Recipe adapted from Julie S. Ong, The Everything Guide to Macrobiotics