Turkey Bolognese

In Italian restaurants I am always tempted by those bowls full of stick to your ribs Pasta Bolognese that I see being delivered to tables around me. I don’t eat red meat often, well maybe never, so  I played around with some classic Bolognese recipes and over time came up with my version of it using ground turkey instead of beef. It’s quick, easy, yields a lot and freezes beautifully. 

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil
one onion, chopped
one scallion, chopped
1 tbs garlic crushed or chopped
1 lb of ground turkey – dark meat
1/3 cup red wine (any kind will do as long as you pour yourself a glass first)
1-2 tbs brown sugar
1 28oz no salt added crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen or another organic brand)

In a non-stick sauce pan or Le Creuset-like Dutch Oven heat 2 tbs olive oil and saute onions and scallions for 3-5 minutes on medium high heat. When the onions are translucent and have lost the ‘raw’ appearance, add the garlic and saute all together 2-3 minutes more. Garlic can burn fast and quickly turn bitter so be careful here.

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Add the ground turkey and using a wooden spoon separate the meat so that it cooks in separate little chunks. Add red wine and let it bubble and allow some of the liquid to evaporate. Add the tomatoes and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and reduce heat to a gentle simmer.

Allow the sauce to cook down and thicken, but stir occasionally to prevent from sticking. When the sauce has thickened to your desired consistency taste it and decide if it needs to be sweetened. Some canned tomatoes are more acidic than others (depends on when the tomatoes were harvested) so a little added brown sugar takes care of that. Add a little at a time and taste it so that you don;t over sweeten it.

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Now just boil your favorite pasta (quinoa pasta is delicious if you’re gluten free), chop some fresh basil and serve with freshly grated parmesan. That’s it.

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Enjoy and always let your taste buds soar!
Hugs,
Maria

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