Recipe of the Day: Paleo Linguine al Fresco con Funghi

While shopping on Newberry Street in Boston this weekend, we lunched at Papa Razzi, an Italian chain restaraunt. I ordered a very un-paleo dish off of their brunch menu: the Linguine al Fresco con Funghi - linguine pasta in a "light and creamy veal ragout with oyster mushrooms". It was actually incredibly heavy, so I could only finish about 1/3 of the plate (looks like my stomach is finally starting to learn good ideas from bad ones). I was inspired to make a paleo copycat of the recipe, and created my own version of this delicious dish. Because I couldn't find nutritional information on Papa Razzi's website (suspicious) I created my own version of their recipe (assumed heavy cream, extra olive oil, etc.) to get a calorie estimation. Here is the comparison for one dish:

Papa Razzi Version: cal. 997; fat 60 g (24 sat); carbs 68 g; fiber 6 g; protein 40 g

Sayd's Recipe: cal. 350; fat 18 g (3 sat.); carbs 30 g; fiber 6 g; protein 17 g

Paleo Linguine al Fresco con Funghi

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 oz Veal, Ground
• 1/6 Whole Carrots
• 1/6 Medium Onion, Sweet
• 1 Garlic Clove
• 1 tbsp Bay Leaf
• 2 tbsp White Wine
• 1/4 cup Vegetable Broth
• 5 oz Crushed Tomatoes
• 3 Fresh Basil Leaves
• 1 cup Squash, Spaghetti
• 1/4 cup Mushroom, Oyster
• For Paleo Cream:
• 1/4 cup Almond Milk*
• 1/4 cup Almond Meal*

*You can replace this version for a store bought paleo-friendly cream. There is one you can order off of Amazon called "Mimicream". Find it here. 

Directions

For spaghetti squash:
1) Cut squash lengthwise into two halves. 
2) Place squash halves into baking pan, so that "inside" of squash is not exposed. Add about 1 in. of water to the pan. 
3) Bake in preheated 375 F oven for 20 minutes.
4) Remove and use a fork to pull noodle-like "linguine" strands from the squash. 
For cream:
1) Combine almond milk and almond meal in a small bowl. 
2) Microwave on high for one minute, stir until mixture is creamy, uniform. Set aside. 
For Sauce: 
1) Heat a large deep skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and veal and brown for 2 or 3 minutes. 
2) Add carrot, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and bay leaf, then add salt and pepper to taste. Cook the sauce for 4 -5 minutes, stirring regularly. 
3) Add white wine to the pan to deglaze, scraping up all the bits from the bottom and sides of the pan. Continue cooking for 1 or 2 minutes. 
4) Add broth to the skillet and reduce heat to medium low. Stir in tomatoes and Paleo "cream" and heat sauce to a bubble. Simmer sauce until ready to serve. Remove bay leaf from the sauce, then add basil right before serving to slightly wilt leaves.  
5) Toss cooked spaghetti squash "linquine" with sauce, adding some extra basil leaves for garnish.