Tomato-free Bolognaise Sauce Recipe from Hullabaloo Food

I am trying to keep up with the “Make a Wish” requests that come in and this month I have tried to solve the problem of how to make tomato sauce and pasta sauce without tomatoes. It is really important when you are trying to make ‘fake food’ that it not only tastes something like original, but it also has the same colour and texture.

Although some customers have requested other exclusion, such as nightshade vegetables, the first step is to make something red, and thick and sharp. I have found two ready to buy ingredients which really come very close to solving this problem.

Berri Creations Apple, Carrot, Beetroot and Lemon Juice [which includes those ingredients plus citric acid, vegetable gums 415, 412 and vitamin C.] The juice is sweet but not too strong and can be counteracted with extra salt, pepper and spices. If you have your own juicer then I would suggest that you squish the same ingredients, but not the 76% apple used here.
Ajvar Paprika Relish Mild. [Peppers, eggplant, garlic, oil, salt, spices]. There are a number of brand of this type of relish which gives sauces a very realistic red colour and a depth of taste that tomato has.

Tomato Free Bolognaise Sauce Recipe

Put 2 onions and 3 cloves of garlic in the blender to chop. Fry in oil.
Put about 1 kg of veggies – carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, celery, capsicum, swede, firm zucchini, parsley – whatever is in the fridge – in the blender and zap until it looks like tabouli.

To the onions add 1kg mince, 1.25 litre juice, 3 tbl relish, 1 tbl mixed herbs, 2 tsp salt, pepper. Simmer until the meat is cooked. Then add the veggies. When the veggies are cooked mix 1-2 tbl of cornstarch into the remaining juice and add to sauce to thicken.

You will need to vary the amount of salt, pepper, thickener and paprika according to your tastes – and don’t worry about being too exact – this isn’t a cake.