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.
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"Swoon to the moon" ... LOVE that! And this dish definitely looks swoonworthy! Thanks for discussing nightshades. I know I have issues with them. That's one reason that AIP helps so many. Great post and recipe, Amber. :-)
ReplyDeletexo,
Shirley
Pinned! Love it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great recipe! Both me and my daughter are a bit sensitive to tomatoes, so this would be a great alternative to try (and it's so vegetable heavy!). :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you, thank you for developing this recipe! I've attempted to come up with a nightshade free sauce and have failed (epic-ly). I can't wait to try this! Since going mostly grain free I've found I can handle tomatoes and potatoes a little bit better, but sometimes it's just nice to have a nightshade free alternative!
ReplyDeletexoxo,
M
I don't have any problems with tomatoes, but forget the tomatoes when I could have all that goodness roasted and made into a sauce! Wowza, lady! This sounds incredible!!
ReplyDeleteAmber, thanks for mentioning my book! I am once again trying to reinvent my diet now that I know how allergic I am to mold. Sadly I can't eat any vinegar (and about 35 other delicious foods!). It is amazingly difficult to make tasty sauces without acid (I think I am allergic to citrus too). This sauce recipe reminds me to "try again" to make something to put on my zucchini noodles.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely tasty sauce Amber and your post has reminded me I still haven't bought my spiralizer. I'm going to try to persuade my husband to add his Amazon Christmas voucher to mine so I can order one, your noodles look gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteButternut squash is becoming a vital ingredient in our kitchen at the moment since it works perfectly in sauces. I wouldn't miss the tomatoes if someone served this dish to me, a stunning combination of flavours, yum!