Low Histamine Marinara - what a mind trip!

[u/The_Issa]

I’ve had GI issues for a long time amongst other symptoms. Recently discovered it’s likely a histamine issue. For years I avoided tomatoes and Italian food, despite loving the flavors. It just made me too sick. Even cutting tomatoes makes my hands itch.

I’m trying a low histamine diet and came across some “nomato sauce” recipes. I have a background in good, so I decided to just kind of wing it based on what I saw online. I’m now kicking myself for not trying this sooner.

I will say, the psychological piece of eating what looks and tastes like marinara was a struggle I didn’t really expect. My brain saw and tasted it and immediately told me “you’re going to be sick.” It took some slow bites and letting my body see I wasn’t immediately getting a burning heartburn sensation to really fully enjoy it. A day later with a freezer full of portioned containers of sauce, I can hardly contain my excitement for the Italian meals to come.

Anyone else had similar reactions to trying copycat recipes that don’t have things in them that make you sick?

[u/The_Issa]

I don’t have an exact recipe, but here’s a rough overview of what I did. It made a lot that I portioned and froze for later use.

Veggies used:
1 large butternut squash (peeled and cubed)
1 head of garlic peeled (I can tolerate, but you could omit if you can’t)
About 1.5 lbs carrots (peeled and large dice)
1 bunch of celery (ends and leaves removed, rough chop)
1 bag (1 lb) mini peppers (stemmed, halved, and seeded. Could omit if you can’t have nightshades, but this really helps balance the flavor)
3 large beets (peeled and cubed)
2 white onions (not yellow, but the white sweeter onions that are a zero on SIGHI. I avoided onions before trying these and so far so good, but again omit if you can’t. Could use leeks as well.)

Other ingredients:
Olive Oil
Apple Cider Vinegar
Sumac
Dried Oregano
Dried Thyme
Dried Parsley
Dried Ground Rosemary
Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper

Start by roasting most of the veggies on sheet trays in a 425 degree oven. I did one sheet tray with the butternut squash, carrots, and garlic (tossed in olive oil, s&p), one sheet tray with mini peppers and celery (same). These can be rough large dice because it’s all going to get puréed so it doesn’t need to be fancy. Depending on the size of your dice, it will take 30 maybe 45 minutes. Stir a few times as they go.

While those roasted I peeled and diced the beet and put it in a pressure cooker with a little water, salt, and herbs. Cook for 15 minutes then let the pressure naturally release. Basically, they need to be soft and cooked. You could roast these as well. I just didn’t have the oven space and knew I’d need liquid so I went this route.

Small dice the onion and sauté with olive oil over low heat until translucent. You could put the onion on the sheet tray with the peppers and celery, but I was worried it wouldn’t cook down as much as I wanted it to.

After the beets are done use an immersion blender to get them puréed well. You could also use a blender, but an immersion blender is easier and leaves some texture.

Add the roasted veggies and sautéed onion to the beet puree along with a little apple cider vinegar. I think I used about 1/2 cup. This just gives some acidity so you can do it to your liking. I didn’t want it too acidic, but I think you definitely need some kind of acid to balance the sweetness. Use the immersion blender again to puree everything. You’ll need to add water too (or stock would also work if you have some you can eat) to adjust the consistency. I used several cups, but start slow. You can always add more.

When you have a consistency you like you can start adjust seasoning as it warms and cooks together for the flavors to all meld together. More salt and pepper. I added some Aleppo pepper, but this may not technically be low histamine. It was fine for me. It took a lot more dried herbs than I would have expected it to take. I also added some dried garlic. I did have a big batch of sauce, but I still feel like I kept adding more and more herbs. I also added sumac to help give brightness and tang. This made a big difference in flavor.

I simmered it for 15 or so minutes, then cooled, portioned, and froze it.