Not sure if you could tell, but over the past month I have been pretty much following an AIP compliant diet in order to deal with some inflammation issues I have been having. What is AIP, you ask? AIP stands for Auto-Immune Protocol. What does that mean? Well, it basically means you are going to be on a pretty restrictive diet. One of the biggest no-no’s on the AIP diet are nightshade vegetables (tomato, potatoes, peppers and eggplant) because they are thought to contain harmful substances that make auto-immune conditions worse.
Unfortunately for me, I really enjoy most of those foods (minus eggplant), so when I got a mean craving for spaghetti style zoodles, I went on the hunt to make something that could give me that fix. What I definitely did not expect was how delicious my creation would turn out.
This No’mato (get it?) sauce is composed of all veggies, mainly beets and carrots, but for anyone out there who isn’t a fan of beets, I PROMISE you that you cannot taste them. I strongly dislike beets and this sauce tastes amazing to me.
Even if AIP means nothing to you, this sauce is still delicious. It uses up a bunch of vegetables, and my entire family, 3 year old included, LOVED it. This recipe makes about 36-40 oz. of sauce, so feel free to put some in a food saver bag in the freezer to save for a later time.
- First 30 mins:
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 4 cups diced rainbow carrots
- 2 cups diced celery
- 1-1/2 cups diced roasted/cooked beets
- 1-1/2 cups diced sweet onion
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 2-1/4 cups water
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic; crushed
- 1 Tbsp. dried herbs de provence
- 1-1/2 tsp dried basil
- ¾ tsp. dried oregano
- 1-1/2 tsp. + 1 tsp pink Himalayan salt, divided
- Last 30 mins:
- 1.5 cups water
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½ pack SweetLeaf Stevia sweetener pack or ½ tsp. honey
- 1 large bunch fresh basil leaves; chiffonaded
- Pink Himalayan salt, to taste
- Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saute carrots, celery and onion with 1 tsp. salt, stirring frequently until onions are translucent.
- Add beets, diced zucchini, herbs, and garlic. Saute 1 min until fragrant, then add ¼ cup vinegar, 2-1/4 cups water, and 1-1/2 tsp. salt.
- Once boiling, cover & reduce to medium low. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After 30 minutes, place the mixture into a food processor and puree to desired consistency. You can also use a with hand blender.
- Place nomato puree, 1.5 cups water, 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, ½ pack SweetLeaf Stevia sweetener and fresh basil back in the pan covered over medium low heat for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Season as needed and serve with fresh basil leaves over zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash or gluten free pasta.