Monday, January 27, 2014

Nightshade Free Roasted Veggie Pasta Sauce (SCD, Paleo, AIP, GAPS)

To the average person pasta sauce is a pretty healthy choice.  But if you suffer from an auto-immune disease and trying to decrease pro-inflammatory foods, tomato-based pasta sauces can be quite aggravating on the system.  Some folks find great success and relief by eliminating nightshades from their diets.  What are nightshades you ask?  Good question.  Nightshades are the following foods: Potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarios, pepinos, pimentos, paprika, tobacco, goji berries, ground cherries, and cayenne peppers (and more).  See this post by the Paleo Mom with a complete list of all nightshades.  
 
Nightshades contain compounds called alkaloids and lectins.  The lectins are guilty of wreaking havoc on the digestive system and specifically cause intestinal permeability.  Please see this other post by the Paleo Mom for all the science she covers on the topic.  
I will share with you that tomato-based pasta sauces totally aggravate my digestion and contributes to inflammation.  I made this connection last year.  So, making a tasty alternative to traditional pasta sauce is very important – because mama likes her pasta sauce.  This one is a winner and my family also loves it.  It does not have an overwhelming beet flavor, it’s barely detectable.  I urge you to give this recipe a try.  And if you’re looking for more nightshade-free recipes, pick up Dawn’s cookbook: Culinary Creativity.  I did a review and giveaway last year.  Oh, and P.S., I used butternut squash in this recipe because while browsing the isles at my Natural Foods Coop, I noticed this butternut squash pasta sauce and thought, “Well, that must be just flippen’ delicious.”  
*
 
Here we have the pasta sauce topped with asparagus and Brussels sprouts wrapped and baked in prosciutto.  
Swoon-to-the-moon!
Nightshade Free Roasted Veggie Pasta Sauce
 
Ingredients:

-4 cups chopped butternut squash 
-2 cups chopped carrots
-1 chopped red onion
-1 cup sliced celery
-1 cup chopped red beets
-2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
-1 teaspoon salt + 1/4 teaspoon salt 
-1 tablespoon fresh diced garlic
-1/2 teaspoon dried basil
-1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
-1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 

How To:

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees 
2.  In a large roasting pan (I use a large glass Pyrex) combine the chopped butternut, chopped carrots, chopped red onion, chopped celery, chopped red beets, 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and fresh garlic.  Mix all the ingredients together and roast for 40 minutes.  You want the veggies to sort of caramelize – this provides a nice sweet flavor to the sauce.  
3.  Transfer all the veggies into a blender.  To the blender also add the additional 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and the apple cider vinegar.  Blend until smooth and everything is well incorporated.   
4.  Serve immediately or warm on the stove top.
Serves 6

Notes: 

*Leave sauce as vegetarian or add 1 pound of ground meat.   
*For the pasta I like to use spiralized zucchini or baked spaghetti squash.  My favorite brown rice pasta is Tinkyada.  

 “Zughetti” pasta.  See THIS post for how to prepare the zucchini noodles.  Purchase this awesome gadget HERE.  
{This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for supporting The Tasty Alternative}
The recipe was shared on:  Fat Tuesdays
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Posted by Amber at

Labels: AIP, GAPS, main dish, Paleo, sauces, SCD.

29 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *