Quite often I find I don’t have a single idea in mind for dinner. It’s the ultimate challenge. I take a look in the fridge and try and draw inspiration from what I see. On this particular evening I felt lucky. I saw mushrooms, a red onion (I love mushrooms and onions!), Aidell’s Organic Chicken Sausage and some veggies. What I came up with is a zucchini tagliatelle that turned out delicious and definitely low carb. I could have had two servings! Here’s the recipe:
Recipe: Zucchini Tagliatelle with Mushrooms and Chicken Sausage
Ingredients:
- 4 – 5 Medium organic zucchini or a combination of summer squash & green zucchini sliced length-wise into approximately 1/8″ thick pieces that are about 1/2″ wide with mandolin and/or sharp knife. See photo below.
- 2 medium organic vine-ripened tomatoes or 1 1/2 cups diced heirloom tomatoes
- 2 Aidell’s Organic Sweet Basil & Roasted Garlic Sausages (or another favorite) diced large
- 2 1/2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms and/or a combination of crimini, shitake, & porcini–your choice
- 1/2 sliced medium red onion or a sweet onion
- 2 large garlic cloves (or 4 medium) minced
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari sauce
- 3 tablespoons ghee, butter or olive oil for sauteing
- 1 heaping tablespoon dry Italian herbs — combination of oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary
- 1 small bunch fresh basil Leaves — tear leaves from stems. Save two small clusters for presentation.
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese shavings. Save some for presentation.
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup dry Chardonnay wine
- Salt and pepper to taste
Serves 2 – 4 depending on size of servings
Instructions:
Brown the diced sausages in large saute pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil or ghee or butter on medium heat. Once browned, add sliced onions and saute until translucent. Add two tablespoons olive oil, ghee or butter, minced garlic, dry herbs and mushrooms. Saute until caramelized. Splash on 2 tablespoons of Tamari sauce and saute for 1 minute. Add wine to deglaze pan and stir until almost evaporated. Add diced tomatoes and saute until tomatoes are soft and incorporated. Season at this point with salt and pepper if needed. Add sliced zucchini and/or summer squash. Gently fold in pan to incorporate. Cover and simmer on low heat until zucchini is almost translucent. Al dente is preferable. Remove from heat. Tear basil leaves and add to pan. Top with cheese shavings ( save some for the presentation). Fold over very gently to incorporate basil and cheese. Cover for approximately 2 minutes to melt cheese. Serve immediately with sprinkled cheese shavings and a small sprig or two of fresh basil. Enjoy!
By the way, if your sensitive to lactose or on a dairy-free diet like the Paleo diet, just leave out the Ghee and cheese. You can also saute in chicken broth.
Disclaimer: I’m by no means a trained professional. I just love to cook and hardly ever use a recipe. So try this and adjust as needed.