AIP Spaghetti and Herb Meat Sauce

A jar of sauce and a box of dried pasta used to be the fastest dinner in the house, and giving that up is one of the quieter losses of starting AIP. Nobody warns you how often you reached for it. This sauce asks you to roast parsnip, carrot, and beet until they give in, then blend them down with anchovy and lemon until the base tastes like something that took hours instead of minutes, because it did.

Most of the color here comes from carrot, and with it, beta-carotene that your body converts to vitamin A and puts to work on the mucosal tissue lining your gut, one of the frontline surfaces involved in keeping an overactive immune system from firing at everything that passes through. It is one more meal pulling in the direction you are already working toward, one plate at a time.

The beef and the 2 anchovies that disappear into the blender are doing real work too, not just seasoning, and they are worth a small beat of gratitude before the fork goes in. Top it with fresh basil and let it look like the dinner you used to make on a good night, because now it actually is one.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 onion, chopped, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups bone broth
• 1 1/2 cups chopped parsnip (about 1 medium)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrot (about 2 medium)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped beet (about 1 medium)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced
• 1 pound cassava spaghetti pasta
• 2 anchovies
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• Unfortified nutritional yeast, to taste (optional)

Method

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add half of the chopped onion and the minced garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the bone broth, parsnip, carrot, and beet. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook covered for 20 minutes until all the root vegetables are completely tender when pierced with a fork.
3. Transfer the vegetable and broth mixture to a blender. Add the anchovies, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Blend until very smooth and silky. Season with sea salt and set aside.
4. While the vegetables simmer, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining onion and cook 3 minutes until softened. Add the ground beef and mushrooms. Cook, breaking the beef apart, until the meat is browned through and the mushrooms have released their liquid.
5. Pour the blended root vegetable sauce into the skillet with the beef. Stir to combine. Simmer together for 5 to 10 minutes, then stir in the fresh oregano. Taste and adjust salt.
6. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the cassava spaghetti according to the package directions. Drain well.
7. Serve the meat sauce over the pasta. Top with fresh basil and a sprinkle of unfortified nutritional yeast, if using.

*Adapted from Autoimmune Wellness*