Serves 6
Time: 1 hr
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~
Ingredients
500 g fresh beef mince (a)
35 g dark green tips of leek (b)
80 g celery (c)
650 g / 2 large white potatoes (d)
250 g swede
1 tin brown lentils
150 g green beans (e)
250 g green cabbage (f)
500 mL homemade chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp citric acid
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp canola oil (g)
400 g / 6 serves of low FODMAP, failsafe, dairy free, wheat free pasta or spaghetti (h)
250 g / 1 large carrot – moderate salicylate option
Foodnotes
(a) Ensure very fresh meat (as instructed by dietician)
(b) Dark green tops of leeks are low FODMAP. They are also slightly higher in salicylates than the white part although suitable for failsafe elimination. Tip: re-grow the leeks.
(c) Celery is low FODMAP at 75 g (FODMAP Friendly App, 2018)
(d) Use white brushed, coliban, sebago or kennebec potatoes, or other large white potatoes with white flesh. Check the colour before buying brushed potatoes because they can come in yellow.
(e) Green beans are low FODMAP at 14 beans (75 g, FODMAP Friendly App, 2018). Frozen green beans can be substituted for fresh green beans and used in the same way.
(f) Green drumhead cabbage is low FODMAP at 1 cup (94 g, The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App, 2018)
(g) Use canola oil that has no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321)
(h) My prefered pasta is Ceres Organics gluten free Quinoa Rice Spaghetti, Fusilli or Penne. See comments on pasta here
Instructions
-
- Rinse dark green tips of leek, celery, potato, green beans and green cabbage
- Thickly peel potatoes and swede, and chop into small cubes
- For a moderate salicylate option, peel the carrot and chop into thin slices
- Finely chop celery and green tips of leek, keeping them separate
- Top and tail green beans and then coarsely chop
- Coarsely chop the green cabbage
- Drain canned lentils and rinse well
- Heat 1 tbsp of canola oil on high heat in a large pot
- Add celery, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp citric acid and carrot (moderate salicylate option) to the pot and cook until celery starts to go clear, about 5 mins
- Add green tips of leek to the pot and cook until they soften, about 2 mins
- Turn the heat down to moderate-high and add the beef mince. Continually stir until the beef mince is no longer pink, adding a small amount of water if the mince starts to stick to the bottom of the pan
- Add lentils, potato, swede and chicken stock to the pot
- Add extra water until all the vegetables and meat are covered
- Bring the sauce to the boil and then simmer with the lid on until the potato and swede are soft, about 20 mins
- Remove the lid and add green beans to the sauce
- Around this time, cook the pasta according to packet instructions
- Simmer the sauce until the water level is just below the vegetables and meat, about 10 mins
- Add the green cabbage, maple syrup and 1/4 tsp salt to the pot
- Cook for another 5 mins until green cabbage is soft
- Serve immediately with low FODMAP, failsafe pasta, or freeze immediately to avoid amine build-up
Personal Notes
The long awaited pasta sauce is here! Or maybe it is not long awaited, but I’ve definitely refered to it several times. It has been one of my staples – easy to make in large batches and it freezes well.
I have been working on this recipe for a while, tweaking ingredients so that it tastes good and making sure there is no FODMAP stacking going on. I think I finally have it right! As I cooked this sauce I was speaking to a good friend on the phone and I realised that although I call this my staple pasta sauce, it can also go by different names, and they would call it “nutrition mush”. Slightly less appealing, but rather accurate – vegetables, meat and carbohydrates all in one. If the sauce seems to be a bit watery, it can be thickened with gluten free cornstarch, or you can add some rice early on to soak up the water. If adding rice, it can really be eaten as a meal on its own without the pasta.
Just to prove that I really have been working on this recipe for a while, here is a photo of the same pasta sauce but back in February and with buckwheat pasta rather than quinoa and rice spaghetti. Alas, although the sauce tastes better now, the lighting is not as good at my new place.
