Red Wine & Sweet Potato Marinara

It’s the holy grail of lectin-free Italian cooking: a lectin-free pasta sauce that can replace our beloved, tomato-filled marinara sauce. For those early in The Plant Paradox protocol or for those who can’t or don’t want to reintroduce tomatoes, there must be a way for us to have our compliant pasta and eat it with sauce too.

There is. And it’s a trick I’ve used for other tomato-based recipes in the past (for example, this one is the number one recipe on my site). It also involves red wine, so what could go wrong?

How to Make Lectin-Free Pasta Sauce

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-Italian, lectin-free marinara sauce:

Sweet Potato Purée

Ah, my old, trusty friend sweet potato purée. It replaces tomato paste in my Lectin-Free Pantry Checklist. That is to say, with some vinegar, spices, and other pizazz, it it will become your lectin-free marinara sauce base.

Likewise, you can make your own purée by peeling, steaming, and mashing a pound of sweet potatoes (see how I do it HERE) or skip the prep and get this organic brand in a can (my favorite).

Wine & Cream

Above all, every marinara sauce needs a good red wine. It’s the best way to “hide” polyphenols and get that traditional Italian flavor. Dr. Gundry recommends wines that come from high elevations, like Argentinian Malbecs (my favorite). I also choose organic or biodynamic wines, sustainably grown. If you have trouble sourcing these from your local wine shop, Thrive Market has an awesome new selection of clean wines with doorstep delivery (in most states).

This particular lectin-free pasta sauce is a creamy marinara. Therefore, you can use an organic/grass-fed heavy cream, coconut cream, or skip it and do a simple lectin-free marinara. But, if you skip the cream, you may want to double the recipe, because the sauce will take longer to thicken.

Fresh Herbs

Herbs make the cooking world go round. If you didn’t already use them all up in various pesto recipes, now’s your chance to use these aromatic green plants to make the best lectin-free pasta sauce to ever adorn your meatballs or noodles.

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Parmesan

No, not the weird stuff that comes in a green can. The real deal–the stuff that comes all the way from Italy called Parmigiano Reggiano. You can also use Pecorino Romano. Any grocery store with a deli will usually have a little imported cheese cooler.

Lectin-Free Marinara

A deliciously rich and creamy alternative to tomato pasta sauce with puréed sweet potato, polyphenol-rich red wine, and chopped fresh herbs. A lectin-free pasta sauce that’s compliant in phase 2 of The Plant Paradox diet.

PREP TIME 10 MINUTES     TOTAL TIME 30 MINUTES     SERVES 4

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can sweet potato purée (or homemade–see above)
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 3/4 cup heavy cream or coconut cream (from the top of the can)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, divided
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, divided
• 1/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano

Instructions

1. HEAT the sweet potato purée in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add half the basil and parsley to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and heavy cream/coconut cream.

2. BRING to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens, 7-8 minutes (or longer, if using a thinner heavy cream). Add the parmigiano at the end and stir until melted.

3. SERVE your lectin-free pasta sauce over your favorite lectin-free noodles or delicious meatballs. Top your dish with the remaining herbs.

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