Awkward vegetable sauce help!

VeggieCatLady

Hello

I am a vegetarian and suffer from numerous food allergies (tomato, garlic, onion powder, soya, oats) and also have oral allergy syndrome which means I can't eat various foods unless they are cooked really well (peppers, celery etc etc).

What I would really love is to make a vegetable sauce to add mince to and have with pasta, but am not really sure where to start! Finding a vegetable 'jar' sauce is impossible when I need to avoid all those foods. I can eat peppers etc if they are really well cooked.

If anyone has any recipes/suggestions I would be very very grateful.

Thanks

goldenpony

Hmm, this is a bit of a toughie! How about a roasted red pepper based sauce? I don't have a recipe but I imagine the roasting of the peppers with plenty of salt and pepper plus herbs/spices of your choice would be pretty flavourful and then all you'd have to do is blend with stock or not to the consistency of your choice.

HTH!

PasturesNew

Just get all the stuff you can eat and roast/boil it down until it's a sauce, then puree it. Tomatoes, carrots.... anything. Try various mixtures.

Seakay

http://www.pickycook.com/pasta/roastedvegetableragu.aspx

This contains tomatoes but you could miss them out and add extra stock and peppers

Out of interest, what sort of mince do you use as you are allergic to soya?

VeggieCatLady

Seakay wrote: »

http://www.pickycook.com/pasta/roastedvegetableragu.aspx

Out of interest, what sort of mince do you use as you are allergic to soya?

Quorn mince

Thanks guys, I'll give it a go! (apart from the tomato suggestion lol) x

Charliex

What about using butternut squash as a base as it's mild and soft - and just roast it or boil until very soft and add in cooked veg that you can eat such as peppers or courgettes and then blend it all in the food processor until you have a smooth puree which you can then thin as much as you like with stock.

PasturesNew

Oh that was me with the tomato.... I skim read and c0ck up. I specialise

babyshoes

Hmm, that's a toughie - so many pasta sauces contain tomatoes and garlic!

How about a pesto type sauce? Basil, pine nuts / other nuts, parmesan or other hard cheese whizzed up with olive oil. You could use the same method with other ingredients like olives or roasted peppers, capers etc. Think about flavours you enjoy, and flavour combinations you think might be good together, and just try whizzing them all together. It may be yucky, but at least then you know what doesn't work and can keep trying!

rachbc

I'd do a base of onion carrot and celery really well sweated to bring out the flavour, the add jarred roasted peppers (or roast your own but at 95p for a bout 8 peppers jars are cheaper) and grated maybe courgettes, cook til its all soft and the flavours have melded then puree - adding stock or wine if it needs thinning. make a big batch and freeze in portions to add to mince as a base for pasta sauce, chilli etc etc. Herbs will add flavour and variety - oregano, basil, tarragon.

kitschkitty

Cauliflower is a great base for smooth white sauces and cheesy sauces.

How about a nice mushroom sauce.

Or how about a nice pea and mint sauce for pasta - great with other green peas, beans, asparagus etc.

I second butternut squash &/or sweet potato for a smooth orange sauce - great as a base for red, yellow & orange peppers and also works well with carrot & other root veg.

Good quality olive oil used as a coating sauce works well with so many herbs, and cheeses as well as being part of a nice pesto as mentioned above.

If avoiding garlic & onions, I think it's worth having a good list of herbs, spices & seasonings you can eat.

Can you eat hot sauces and chili at all?

What about worcestershire sauce - I find it's an excellent seasoning for many dishes to add depth (though contains fish so may not be suitable for vegetarians).

VeggieCatLady

Charliex: I love butternut squash, so that's a great suggestion, thanks!

PasturesNew : Don't worry, it made me laugh

babyshoes: I have tried pesto sauces before but haven't tried making my own, so think I'll give this a go!

rachbc: Thanks for this, I will try it

kitschkitty: Yes I can eat chilli and hot foods (ironically!) and you can buy veggie worcester sauce, so that's a good idea!

I had been ill after eating on nearly a daily basis (sometimes more than once) until I had tests done. Now I feel like I am learning to cook from scratch again because so many things that I used to eat, I now have to cut out of my diet! All of your suggestions have been really helpful, thank you xx