How can a Tuscan pasta dish be AIP friendly? If you’re feeling best on an AIP (autoimmune paleo) diet, you’re probably staying away from nightshades like tomatoes, not to mention grains, which are excluded on AIP as well. But you can still enjoy this one dish meal – thanks to tomato sauce options like Nomato, a veggie based marinara sauce with zero tomatoes in it. Some AIP eaters can manage by eating smaller amounts of sauce that is free of seeds and skins, like BioNature Strained Tomatoes. And others may be fine with a sauce that simply meets criteria for Specific Carbohydrate Diet, like Rao’s Marinara Sauce. Whichever you choose for this recipe, all are sugar free, and the recipe uses a relatively scant amount as a last step – making the amount of tomato in each serving small (and zero if you use Nomato sauce).
The other piece that makes this a welcome option for AIP or SCD eaters is using grain free pasta. Options exist for lentil pasta, almond flour pasta, or pastas made from cassava flour or chick peas. Choose what works in your house and enjoy.
The beans in this recipe are flexible too. I’ve tried green beans, wax beans, and Navy beans in this recipe and any are suitable and delicious. You can opt for your favorite Italian sausage too. My preference for this recipe is Mulay’s Mild Italian sausage, though bratwurst can work too. And my all time favorite olive option is Asaro Organic Castelvetrano Pitted Green Olives. I’ve found them stocked often at Costco too, which is a good thing because I keep snacking on them!
This recipe evolved by what my mom used to call “enthusiasm” dishes – that is, you put everything you’ve got into it. Two key flavor elements are the lemon juice and the bacon fat; I reserve bacon drippings and store them in my fridge. When my cupboards are getting a little bare – that’s when I get the most creative, and that’s how this recipe came about. It’s a keeper!
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound Mulay's organic mild Italian sausage chopped into coins before cooking
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large scallion (green onion) minced
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1.5 Tablespoons bacon fat
- 8-10 green olives chopped
- 1/2 cup green or wax beans steamed or microwaved ahead of time; canned rinsed navy beans work too
- 1/3 cup curly parsley stems removed, chopped
- 1/2 cup Nomato or Marinara Sauce
- 1 package Tolerant Red Lentil Penne Pasta or your pasta of choice
- Set water on stove to boil for pasta; prepare pasta according to package instructions. While it's boiling, proceed with steps below.
- If you are using fresh green or wax beans, place these in 1/4 cup water on stove and cover to simmer til tender. Alternatively, you can also microwave these in water til tender. If you are using canned Navy beans, drain, rinse and set aside 1/2 cup for your recipe.
- While beans and pasta are cooking, chop sausage into bite size pieces or coins and set aside. Do this before cooking the sausage.
- Heat olive oil in skillet. Toss in sausage on medium high heat to brown pieces on all sides.
- Once browned, don't drain fat or juices from the skillet; add minced garlic and scallion and stir til tender but not burnt.
- Deglaze with lemon juice, stirring sausage, garlic and scallion to blend the browned bits from the skillet into the liquid. Add bacon fat. Stir to combine and thicken the liquid, evenly tossing it throughout.
- Next add cooked and drained beans, then add parsley and olives. Combine all and heat through.
- Add Nomato or tomato sauce of choice and combine all to heat through. Toss over cooked and drained pasta and evenly combine all ingredients to enjoy.
If you are using Nomato sauce or BioNature Strained Tomato Sauce, a seasoning boost may help. Sprinkle oregano into your sauce along with garlic powder, salt, or fresh or dried basil before adding it to the skillet.