Nomato Sauce
GLUTEN FREE · DAIRY FREE OPTION · NUT FREE · PALEO · AIP
Many people with autoimmune conditions have a sensitivity to the nightshade family of vegetables. Nightshades include: tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, potatoes (not sweet potatoes), goji berries, paprika, cayenne pepper and gooseberries. In particular, people with joint problems, or the autoimmune condition of rheumatoid arthritis, often achieve symptom relief by eliminating nightshades from their diet. Others have a digestive sensitivity to nightshades and so feel better when they avoid them. It is for these reasons that nightshades are not allowed on the AIP diet, as the aim is to remove all sources of inflammation and aggravation, heal the gut, and alleviate the symptoms of the relevant autoimmune condition. Eliminating nightshades for a time and then reintroducing them and monitoring your symptoms can be an effective way of determining if you have a nightshade sensitivity.
This Nomato Sauce is a tomato-esque sauce, minus the tomatoes! It’s great for pasta, as a sauce for meatballs, or even as a pizza sauce. The red colour is achieved through the natural colour combination of carrot and beetroot, and you can easily tweak the flavours through the use of herbs and spices.
The Ingredients
Ghee
Possibly one of my favourite ingredients ever! Ghee has a lovely nutty taste and is an excellent alternative to butter, particularly in savoury cooking. Due to the removal of the milk solids, it is both lactose-free and casein-free and so is very well-tolerated, although may still need to be avoided by those with severe dairy allergies (in which case, olive oil would be a suitable alternative, making the sauce dairy free).
Ghee is also a key ingredient in a gut-healing diet as it contains butyrate: a source of energy for the cells lining the colon, anti-inflammatory and can improve intestinal permeability.
Carrots
The vegetable at the heart of this sauce. Carrots are rich in vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants, and their slightly sweet flavour is good for mimicking the ‘sweetness’ of classic tomato sauces. Their orange colour also naturally contributes to the tomato-red result.
Spring onions (scallions)
What is a tomato sauce without onions? I love the freshness of spring onions, and let’s face it - they’re a lot easier and faster to chop than a regular onion!
Garlic
At the risk of repeating myself: what is a tomato sauce without garlic?!
Bone Broth
A gut-healing superstar, bone broth is full to the brim with nutrients, minerals and amino acids. It is rich in protein and contains collagen, glutamine, glucosamine, glycine and chondroitin, all of which help build and strengthen your bones and joints, as well as supporting the lining of the gut and improving intestinal permeability (leaky gut).
Bone broth also adds flavour to food, much as stock cubes do! I find the most convenient way to add it to my cooking, is to pour it into ice cube trays and then simply pop the ice cubes into the dish as it is cooking.
Click here for the recipe.
Water
Turmeric
A key anti-inflammatory player in this sauce. For a full rundown on turmeric’s hero spice status, click here.
Coriander (cilantro), sage
These wonderful herbs help elevate the flavours in the sauce, as well as contributing to the nutritional value.
I have used dried herbs here, but if you prefer to use fresh, you will need about three times the amount.
Salt and pepper
Raw Beetroot Powder
The natural red food dye! I absolutely love this stuff. If beetroots are not something you typically eat then it’s a bit of a pain to have to have to get them just for this sauce. A good quality raw beetroot powder makes a very convenient replacement for fresh beetroot, is highly nutritious, and retains the wonderful colour and flavour of its fresh counterpart.
When you add it to the purée, it may clump up, so make sure you stir it in well, or simply blend again with a handheld blender to ensure optimum smoothness.
Parsley
The classic garnish, parsley adds some extra flavour and nutrients to the mix.
Capers/Olives (optional)
These additional toppings are optional, but I love the salty hit they add to the sauce, and so definitely recommend adding one or the other.
Changes & Substitutions
Olive oil instead of ghee
If you would like to make the sauce dairy free, then you can sub in olive oil for the ghee.
Regular onions?
Feel free to use a small onion instead of 3 spring onions if you like. It will certainly work with the flavours of the sauce, it will just need a little more chopping effort than the spring onions.
Does it have to be bone broth?
As I always try to have as many gut-healing components in my recipes, I opt for bone broth more often than not. However, you may of course use vegetable broth if you prefer.
Fresh beetroot instead of powder?
Again, I am a sucker for anything that makes life easier, so the powder is by far the easier option for me. However, feel free to use a fresh beetroot in the recipe if you like. I would think 1-2 small ones, cooked along with the carrots, should work, though you may find you need to add a little more water than is stated.
Different herbs?
You may use the recipe as a base for any nomato sauce, and change the herbs accordingly. For instance, you could replace the sage and coriander with basil, to create a Nomato Napolitana Sauce.
Serving Suggestion
This sauce would go great with:
Your favourite gluten free pasta
Meatballs
Your favourite gluten free pizza base
A sprinkling of Vegan Parmesan
NOMATO SAUCE
Ingredients
- 4 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 spring onions, chopped
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1/4 cup bone broth (or 3 bone broth ice cubes)
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp coriander
- 1/4 tsp sage
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tsps raw beetroot powder
- Hot water – may need to add at the end if consistency is too thick for your liking.
- Chopped parsley, to garnish
- Capers (optional)
- Olives (optional)
Instructions
- Add in the carrots and onions, and sautée over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until onions become translucent.
- Add in the bone broth and the spices/herbs. Add in the water gradually after this.
- Once the carrots are fork-soft, remove from the heat and purée (a handheld blender is ideal for this).
- Add in the beetroot powder and mix well.
- If the sauce is too thick, add in a little hot water at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve with parsley and capers/olives sprinkled on top.
Notes:
· This makes an ideal nightshade-free pasta sauce. · For a dairy free option, use olive oil instead of the ghee.