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Monday, February 29, 2016

Recipe: The Ultimate Tomato Sauce Substitute (like "Nomato Sauce")

The Ultimate Tomato Free Tomato Sauce Recipe - tomato free, nightshade free, tomato intolerance, nightshade intolerance, gluten free, vegan, egg free, dairy free, nut free, allergy friendly recipes, homemade nomato sauce

Note: We used to call this sauce "Nomato Sauce", but we weren't aware that Nomato is a trademarked name and thus, after a letter from their legal name, we can no longer call this recipe "Nomato Sauce". Instead, what we can tell you is that this is the best tomato free tomato sauce/napoletana sauce substitue we've had and a recipe we make over and over again!

When I was diagnosed with coeliac disease, switching over to a gluten free diet wasn't the miracle cure I was expecting. 

You see, whilst I did eliminate the number one enemy, I wasn't yet aware that there were quite a lot of smaller enemies as far as my stomach was concerned. All of the years of eating gluten destroyed the lining of my stomach, leaving it extremely sensitive. 

As time went on we identified these enemies (and as I healed those enemies disappeared!), however, there was one food that was a serious challenge for me to eliminate.... 

Tomatoes. 

I was the girl who lived off tomatoes. I ate them like apples, my favourite pasta sauces were tomato based sauces - I even shopped at one particular fruit and veggie shop solely because they stocked a range of different tomatoes in all sorts of colours and shapes. 

Eliminating tomatoes was tough and I had to learn to live without them... though, in true Kristy fashion, I wasn't going to eliminate them - I would experiment with alternatives until I came up with something that would serve as a suitable alternative. 

The Ultimate Tomato Free Tomato Sauce Recipe - tomato free, nightshade free, tomato intolerance, nightshade intolerance, gluten free, vegan, egg free, dairy free, nut free, allergy friendly recipes, homemade nomato sauce

The experiments started with pumpkin - but there were only so many times I could have creamy cheesy pumpkin sauces. 

Then whilst making a carrot based soup, I had an idea... what about if I added carrots into the mix. 

Combining pumpkin and carrot worked but it wasn't the right colour and something was still missing - so I added beetroot. Beetroot gave me the bright red colour I wanted whilst everything else contributed to the texture - then I just needed to season it and tweak the other ingredients until everything was perfect. 

After quite a few batches, I finally perfected the recipe (after thinking I perfected it previously - but we all agree this version is the best yet) and that's what I'm sharing with you today. 
Nomato Sauce Pizza - Tomato Free Pizza Sauce Recipe for Nightshade IntoleranceQuesadillas with Nomato Sauce - Tomato Free Salsa Recipe for Nightshade Intolerance

Chicken Parmigiana with Nomato Sauce - Tomato Free Tomato Sauce Recipe for Nightshade IntoleranceSpaghetti Bolognese with Nomato Sauce - Tomato Free Pasta Sauce Recipe for Nightshade Intolerance

Whilst it may not be exactly like tomatoes, it's pretty darn close and the best alternative we can come up with. We use it in pasta, we use it on pizza, we use it as a salsa, we use it to make tomato free chicken parmigiana - we use it on ALLL THE THINGS! So much so that I'm even planning on making us "pizza toasties" for lunch with this sauce, cheese and pepperoni :P 

It's free from capsicum, chilli and other nightshade ingredients so it's perfect for those with a nightshade intolerances (or those like me with random intolerances) and it's packed full of veggies so you get a nutrition boost too!

Commonly Asked Questions:
Is Nomato Sauce AIP Friendly? Yes, it is! It's the perfect AIP pasta sauce alternative.
Is Nomato Sauce Nightshade Free? Yes! Nomato Sauce is a great nightshade free spaghetti sauce or nightshade free pasta sauce alternative. Many readers have also used it to make a nightshade free salsa by adding cumin and other spices.
How can I make nomato sauce more savoury? Try adding some kalamata olives before pureeing. This adds a delicious savoury flavour.

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 


Nomato Sauce, Tomato Free, Sugar Free, Low Fat, Vegan, Clean Eating, Allergy Friendly
Sauces
Yield: Makes about 4 cups

Nomato Sauce Recipe

Perfect for those with a Nightshade Allergy or Tomato Intolerance, this homemade "Nomato Sauce" Recipe is a tomato free tomato sauce alternative that really is the closest option to the real thing. After testing for years, we have come up with the ULTIMATE Tomato Sauce Alternative that is tomato free, gluten free, sugar free, vegan, clean eating friendly and doesn't use any capsicum or bell peppers. There are even onion and garlic free options.
prep time: 10 minscook time: 30 minstotal time: 40 mins

ingredients:


  • 2 small onions or one large onion*
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed* 
  • 1 tbsp butter or oil
  • 4 large carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
  • 3/4 cup butternut pumpkin/squash, peeled and cubed
  • 2 medium beetroot or 4 small beetroot, peeled** (see notes)
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock***
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

instructions


  1. Finely dice your onion and crush your garlic.
  2. In a large non-stick saucepan, saute your onions and garlic in your butter/oil until soft and translucent, adding a splash of water if needed to stop them sticking.
  3. Add in all of your other ingredients and the mix to the boil before reducing to a simmer and cooking until your carrots and pumpkin are soft.
  4. Once your veggies are soft, blend them until your sauce reaches your desired consistency, seasoning to taste.
  5. Use immediately or allow to cool before storing in a glass jar in the fridge (this prevents staining) or freezing portions in zip lock bags to use later. The sauce will keep for around a week in the fridge. 

NOTES:

*If you also can't have onion or garlic, you can leave this out, however, I'd suggest adding in some celery instead for that savoury flavour. I can't eat celery, however, I did try another version with around 1 cup of celery instead of the onion and garlic and whilst it was different, it was still a hit with our testers! 
If you can't tolerate onion but can have leek or shallots, use them instead!
**We find you get the best taste and texture using pre-cooked beets (like lovebeets) and it saves the cooking and peeling. If using raw beetroot, steam or bake your beets prior to adding to the rest of the ingredients.
***You can use water instead of stock, we just find the taste is better with chicken stock.
Created using The Recipes Generator
 
    But tell me, do you have any allergies/food intolerances/special dietary needs?
    If so, what are the foods you miss the most?
    And what's one food you could not live without?
    I always say I couldn't live without peanut butter - and friends and family actually joke (it's pretty cruel!) that Jesse and I will have a kid with a peanut intolerance and I'll be the one stuffing myself stupid with peanut butter as soon as I leave home and showering/brushing my teeth/changing my clothes before coming back again. 


        
       

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    25 comments:

    1. Sadly i cant have beets or tomatoes 😞 do you have a recipe for your pumpkin carrot one without beets?

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. You can definitely try it without the beets. It just won't have the red colour and the taste will be different. If you can have olives, I'd add a few kalamata olives and some celery (if you can have it) to give it more of a savoury flavour.

        Delete
    2. Hi, this is a fantastic recipe! Would you be able to give me the amounts in grams rather than cups?

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hi Evi,
        In grams the amounts would roughly be:
        200g onion
        10g garlic
        1 tbsp butter or oil (15g)
        400g carrot
        200g peeled butternut squash/pumpkin
        200g beetroot
        1 1/2 cups chicken stock

        Delete
      2. Thank you so much! It makes it easier for me as everybody has different ideas of what medium/large etc looks like...
        Have to be on a gluten-free, and low histamine diet, which makes cooking a more trying experience!
        I'm a lover of tomatoes, cheese, cured meats and anything bread-related - so a bit tricky to get excited about meals. But I am looking forward to trying your recipe!

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    3. Thank you so much for this. Have a fosterling join us who's 1 and after a lot of rashes and spaghetti bolognaise all over the walls of the bedroom and cot we discovered a tomato allergy. Amongst all this chaos of corona I have jumped head first in to make a batch up. Luckily butternut squash and bettroot aren't too sellers in our shops

      Thank you again! Wish me luck with my Spaghetti Meetballs for dinner tonight

      ReplyDelete
    4. This looks so good! But the "Print" button isn't working.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Oh no! Thanks for letting me know. I'll have to find out why it isn't working!

        Delete
    5. Thank you much. My mom loves spaghetti but had to cut down the use of tomatoes due to potassium level. Are the ingredient you have high in potassium?

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hey there! Unfortunately I'm not sure if the recipe is high in potassium or not. I've done a quick google and it seems like pumpkin is high in potassium, so it may not be suitable! I guess it depends on what level she can tolerate.

        Delete
    6. Any suggestions on how to freeze this sauce? I made it as per the instructions then froze portions but when defrosting it I found the sauce had separated and gone runny.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hey! I've always freezed mine and it worked really well. I do reheat it on the stove though so maybe that's the difference?

        If you heat and stir it it should come back together.

        Delete
    7. This sounds like a lifesaver! Nightshades have deff been one of the hardest things to give up. So I'm curious what makes the sauce tangy instead of sweet? Have you ever tried adding some mustard seed or a touch of vinegar to give it a little bite ...

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Yes! I often add a splash of apple cider vinegar to give it a bit more acidity. Play around with it and make it your own! :)

        Delete
    8. Sounds like a good sauce to try since i cannot eat tomatoes any more. Would courgettes ( zucchini) be an ok addition?

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Most definitely! I've added them in before and they're a great addition.

        Delete
    9. Hi, this recipe looks really good but there is only two of us in the house hold and although I know I could halve the ingredients, I wanted to ask how long this would last if I was to batch make and put into jars

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hey Katie, we've left it in jars in the fridge for up to a week. You could also use a canning process (some readers have) but i have no experience in this so I'm not sure what to do.

        If we want to keep it for longer we freeze it in portions to defrost and use later.

        Delete
    10. can you use frozen buttenut squash? Also does it mean both squash and pumpkin or one or the other? I can't do pumpkin.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. You can use frozen butternut squash. It's just one or the other, in Australia butternut squash is known as butternut pumpkin (both pumpkin and butternut squash are winter squash and botannically the same).

        Delete
    11. Can I use canned pumpkin?

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    12. This recipe has been a life saver. I have a autoimmune disease and I can’t have nightshades. Being Italian not having tomatoes has been a real bummer. This actually has been a wonderful replacement and let’s me still enjoy my favorite Italian dishes. Thank you ! Thank you! 🙂

      ReplyDelete
    13. Kristy you’re the first person I’ve encountered that’s allergic to celery and tomatoes like me! I’m also allergic to carrots, so I replaced them with sweet potatoes and loved how the sauce turned out.

      ReplyDelete

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