HP’s NOMATO Marinara Sauce

OMGoodness, it looks, and yes, it tastes just like Sunday Sauce.

There is a multitude of various Nomato recipes living on Google.  After much research, my tastebuds and test kitchen led me to develop my version of the AIP, digestion-friendly marinara sauce for clients. Heck,  and even for myself when tomatoes are out of season or if I want to enhance my daily vegetable intake.

This nomato sauce is a nightshade-free marinara sauce that’s made without tomatoes. It’s AIP-compliant, Whole30, Paleo, and sugar-free.

For those who landed on this page without any reference point, the nomato sauce, meaning made without tomatoes, is a creative culinary solution or food remedy to substitute when recipes call out for canned tomatoes.  I have the most profound respect for creatives who understand the science of how to meld flavors together in innovative combinations allowing everyone to enjoy food once again, with no restrictive behaviors or unnecessary suffering from eating food that causes flare-ups in autoimmune conditions to food sensitivities with nightshades.  Tomatoes are also acidic and may cause severe heartburn and acid reflux in some people.  Food matters when people are healing, but our mental health doesn’t decline from missing out on our favorite food.

If you were to ask me what my favorite food was when I was a kid, I probably would’ve said pizza and pasta. I mean, can you blame me? Who doesn’t love pizza? I grew up in New York in an Italian American family. So when working with clients, I felt the deep connection to their frustration in missing out on the most umami, comforting food out there,  and a common ingredient in many Italian recipes.

Over the years, I’ve tried a lot of nomato sauce, and in doing, I feel I finally can feel confident in sharing my version of nomato sauce.

It’s just the right flavor and consistency and is made quickly and easily with simple ingredients. You’re about 20 minutes away from having nightshade-free tomato sauce right now.

First, take a look at the powerhouse nutrition in the ingredients.

Nomato Marinara Sauce

• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 fillets of anchovy and a dash of the olive oil in tin

• 2 1/2 cup carrots, chopped

• 1 cup fennel, chopped and diced

• 1 cup cauliflower

• 1 cup cremini mushrooms

• 1 1/4 cup beet, chopped

• 1 bay leaf

• 2 tsp parsley

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1 cup vegetable, fish, or chicken broth (depending on recipe)*

• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Preparations

1. Add the olive oil to a heavy stock pot

2. Saute the garlic, fennel, anchovy, for 2 minutes, before adding in the carrots, beets and cauliflower and mushroom. Add in bay leaf, and sprig of thyme. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Pour in apple cider vinegar, then the broth of choice and add the seasonings. Stir to combine.

4. Cover and simmer the ingredients on low heat. Once the vegetables are tender, let cool before blending in Vitamix or high speed blender until smooth. Or if you like a bit more texture you can use a hand mixer for desired consistency depending on recipe.

Kitchen notes: 

Get curious to your flavor profile.  For example, if you are using nomato sauce to replace in fishermen’s stew choose a fish or veggie stock, for rich meat base stews, go for beef or chicken bone broth.  Get curious on texture and taste, because a meatless bolognese you would desire chunks of umami mushrooms to give your tastebuds the sensation of the classic dish.  For tomato water, in the recipe PESCE AL’Aqua Pazza, it requires more liquid for a tinted light sauce.  Cooking is very personal and a way to express yourself.   Please indulge in the recipe as a foot note, or a place to leap from in your culinary adventures …. and in good health!

A Nutrient-Dense List of Ingredients

CARROTS

Carrots are the main veggie in this dish. They have a sweet, full-body flavor and add some red tint to the sauce.

BEETS

This is the main veggie in the sauce that gives it its red color. I know some people don’t love beets, so this is an ideal way to get them into your eating habits.  The earthy, jewel tone is an essential component of preparing nomato sauce.

GARLIC

These add a ton of flavor to the sauce. Technically, you can leave out the garlic, especially on fodmap but you can use a method of infusion of the garlic into the olive oil.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower might be one of the most versatile vegetables around. Cauliflower, in essence, enhances the texture of the sauce lending itself to enhance the umami-forward flavors we are so addicted to in pizza and pasta sauce.

Anchovy

Yes,  I promise you it will not taste fishy.  Plus, you will add calcium, omega 3, b12, and other elusive nutrients missing in our eating habits.  

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