Marinara (No) Meat sauce

I had forgot all about this recipe. It was emailed to me by my plant based friend. She tells me her family didn't even notice it was meatless.

I had a plan...If the kids saw the ingredients it was unlikely they would even try it. So I waited until they were busy playing. It looked really good and it tasted even better. We sat down to eat and guess what? No one asked what kind of sauce it was that was on their spaghetti. No one seemed to notice they had just consumed a meat free dinner. The only thing that seemed to confuse DH was that I was also eating it. He was truly shocked when he saw the recipe. This recipe makes a really satisfying Bolognese sauce.

Marinara Meatless sauce

1 c  raw walnuts or cashews*

8 oz mushrooms

150z can kidney beans, rinsed drained and dried

½ c flour (any type -I used GF mix)

1 t Italian seasoning

1 teasp onion powder

1 t garlic powder

½ black pepper –optional

½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

1-2 Jars  of your favorite Marinara sauce

Process nuts in a food processor to make a fine crumbly meal. Ass mushrooms and pulse about 10 times, so mushrooms are finely chopped, Add beans, flour and all seasonings and pulse 8-10 times. You don’t want to turn it into a paste –it should look crumbly and still have chunks in it.

Heat oil in a large non stick skillet/frying pan. Add bean-nut-mushroom mix to pan and brown evenly. This take 10-15minutes. Use a spatula to turn it frequently and scrap the bottom of the pan to stop any burning.

After browning, add Marinara sauce and stir until all mixed together and heated through.

This sauce can be used on top of spaghetti pasta, mixed in with Penne and I am going to use the leftovers it in my Slow cooker Meatless lasagna recipe. If you prefer a more ‘saucy’ Bolognese sauce, you can had up to another jar of marinara sauce, without affecting the overall taste too much.

*The original recipe uses Walnuts but all I had in the cupboard was cashews.

For a subtle cheesy flavor omit salt and add 1 teas yellow miso 2 T Nutritional yeast (opt).