Beet Sauce (Or I Can't Believe It's Not Real Tomato Sauce!)

Lately my husband is avoiding nightshade foods to help his gut heal.  He's still having some setbacks with his digestion and small intestine.  What the heck are nightshade foods, you may be wondering?  Oh just your everyday average cooking staples like tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc.  Deep Long Sigh! 

Well how in the heck can I make meals for him and us without any tomatoes, onions and peppers in them?  Does that mean no more spaghetti squash?  No more pizza?  No more gumbos or chili?  I don't think so!  I'm not giving up those things! 

I was determined not to let this temporary "setback" get the best of me.  So thank you Internet for having tons of recipes and resources out there for me to utilize.  I took two different posted recipes I found and tweaked them to make it my own fake tomato sauce for my husband.  And guess what?  You'd never really know it didn't have tomatoes in it.   The sauce LOOKS like tomato sauce and it nearly tastes like it too.  I fooled a half dozen ladies at my house for a recipe swap with this exact recipe.  So if you're avoiding tomatoes because of their acidity like my hubby is or if you're dealing with inflammation or arthritis issues, this may be the perfect sauce for you....



Beet Sauce (Or Faux Tomato Sauce)

(Makes about 3 and 1/2 cups)
1 can of beets (15 oz) OR 1 and 1/4 cups of fresh beats- undrained- can be sliced, diced or whatever - you will puree them anyway!
1 can of pumpkin puree (15 oz)
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp dried basil leaves
1/2 Tbsp onion powder (don't use real onions if you're avoiding nightshades.  The powder is okay!)
1/2 Tbsp garlic powder (don't use real garlic if you're avoiding nightshades.  The powder is okay!)
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried sage
Juice from 1 lemon (about 2-3 Tbsp)

In a medium or large sauce pan, pour in the juice from your can of beets.   Use a food processor to puree the beets into a soft, almost liquid mixture.  (You can leave some chunks if you like your tomato sauce that way).  Add the pureed beats to the sauce pan.  Now add in your pumpkin puree, olive oil, vinegars, salt, basil, onion and garlic powder and remaining seasonings.  Simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  Taste.  Add any additional salt or seasonings you see fit.  Serve as you would any tomato sauce - on a pizza, on spaghetti squash or in any dish you like. 



Enjoy and see if your friends or family will even notice the difference, that it's not real tomatoes!  :-)