As a chef you're not really supposed to have any "untouchable" fruits or veggies, but I have to admit - I do. Not a big fan of tropical fruit (have you ever smelled that Durean fruit?!) or root vegetables. My least favorite root veggie of all time? Beets. Even though I love their color, I'm not a fan of their flavor. However, there are 2 dishes that I do make with them: brownies (I'll share that recipe in a future post) and "No-Mato" sauce. It may sound strange, but since many people can't or choose not to have nightshades like tomotoes (nightshades are veggies that grow at night, like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant), this "No-Mato" sauce is a great replacement. You can use it as the base of a pizza like tomato sauce, on top of pasta, and if you have any leftover, you can thin out the sauce and make it into soup! Double whammy!
"No-Mato" Sauce (makes enough pasta sauce for 3-4 people)
1 large beet (I like to pre-cook them to save time: wrap them in foil and pop them in the oven when you're cooking something else. it takes about 30-40 minutes)
2 small or 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1-2 stalks celery, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1tsp oregano (I usually use fresh), a few basil leaves torn (feel free to add/change up the herbs here)
fennel - you can use fresh or dried seeds, but I think it gives it a real "pasta sauce-y" quality. I use a small sliver of fresh fennel or you can use some dried ground up seeds instead
In a large pot, saute onions until translucent. Next add the carrots and celery, stirring so that they don't stick - cook for about 3-5 minutes. Now add the rest of the ingredients, a bit of water to go up about halway up the vegetable mixture. Put a lid on it and simmer for 10 minutes, checking to make sure it doesn't dry out of water. If it does, add a bit more - you want to keep the consistency slightly stew-like because you are going to blend it afterwards. Cook for another 20 minutes, or until all vegetables are well cooked. Using a blender, puree the mixture until it has the consistency of a pasta sauce. Add a few drops of red wine vinegar to perk up the flavors, and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Use as a base for pizzas or as a pasta sauce. You can also thin it out and it'll make a great soup with some croutons sprinkled on top!
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