Tinkyada + Nomato = Pinkyada?

[RiceGuy]

Hi everyone.

I had been planning to make gluten-free, dairy-free, nightshade-free lasagna (yes, lasagna, without any of the traditional main ingredients), and finally got around to it a few days ago. I had already come up with a dairy-free "ricotta cheese" recipe, and figured I'd mimic the tomato-free sauce called Open Original Shared Link.

The sauce is basically carrots, beets, citric acid, ascorbic acid, and a healthy portion of onion, garlic, and spices. To my amazement, the sauce turned out incredibly well. It looked, smelled, and tasted like tomato sauce! (this gets me one major step closer to having gluten-free pizza)

So, I put it all together in the usual manner, and baked it in the oven. Looked great, smelled great, and tasted great. That is, except for one minor detail - the lasagna noodles had actually turned pink! I don't recall this ever happening with tomato sauce, but since this is the first time I used Tinkyada with a red sauce, I don't know if it was the pasta or the sauce that was responsible for the Technicolor Transformation.

Does Tinkyada usually turn pink in tomato sauce? Has anyone used Nomato, or made their own equivalent? If so, does the pasta soak up the color?

[Takala]

Congratulations on creating the secret formula to make Barbie

[eringopaint]

I use Tinkyada all the time and have never seen it turn pink - sounds pretty though. :-) I would guess the beets are responsible too.

[Puddy]

You might be on to something, Rice Guy! If this gets out to the world, every little girl is going to want pink pasta for dinner....LOL. Can you market it?

I agree with the beet theory. I use Tinkyada all the time with tomato sauce and it's never turned pink. I like the sound of it though!

[MaryJones2]

I got a good chuckle out of this one Rice Guy.

[pixiebell]

My best guess would be that it was the sauce you used. Beets are great for dyeing and staining things.

[Darn210]

You might be on to something, Rice Guy! If this gets out to the world, every little girl is going to want pink pasta for dinner....LOL. Can you market it?

I got a good chuckle out of this one Rice Guy.

Me Too!! . . . LOL at all the comments . . . Barbie Lasagne (with the little trademark thingy no less) . . .

Agreed on the beets . . . Congrats on your lasagne, though!!!

[purple]

Ha Ha Ha...yup...the beets. Save your recipe to make on Valentine's Day next year!

Headline News

Barbie Lasagna...new trend for Celiacs

[jerseyangel]

Gotta be the beets

And Riceguy, I have to ask--what did you use for the ricotta? I can do tomato sauce, but lasagne eludes me because of the ricotta. I've heard of using mashed potato, which also sounds good.

Bet they'd turn pink, too......

[RiceGuy]

Thanks everyone. I was also thinking it was the beets. Interestingly, the color of the carrots showed through slightly after the sauce was cooked. So I added more beets, but didn't have time to cook it again. Perhaps if I had, it may have reduced the color bleeding into the pasta.

And Riceguy, I have to ask--what did you use for the ricotta? I can do tomato sauce, but lasagne eludes me because of the ricotta. I've heard of using mashed potato, which also sounds good.

I actually put some soft tofu, shredded coconut, lecithin, and water through the blender until the coconut was properly pulverized. Then added salt, a bit of citric acid, and Stevia to taste. It's been a while since I last tasted ricotta, but I think both texture and taste were pretty close. However, I don't think it really needed the tofu, so next time I'll try coconut, lecithin, and a bit of xanthan. If you don't have lecithin, an egg or two should work just fine.