Gobble, gobble...

Most of you that follow this blog may notice that I make Bolognese sauce...ALOT. It's the thing that my kids ask for constantly and I can't say I blame them. Pretty darn good stuff! I don't mind feeding them red meat every now and then, especially with all the veggies that go into the sauce to balance things out. But at the rate I'm making this stuff, it's getting to be too much. So tonight I experimented with ground turkey instead of beef.

It tasted extremely close to the original beef sauce but much leaner. The family loved it. In fact, I don't believe the kids even knew the difference. What I noticed though is that I needed more sauce on the pasta for it to be flavorful enough. With the beef sauce, a little went a longer way. Perhaps it was the higher fat content?

I'm happy with my first attempt but I will be trying this out many more times. Don't get bored. I know it can be even better!

Turkey Bolognese (first attempt)

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine (a food processor or a mini chopper is a quick and easy way to finely chop all these veggies fine)
• 1 large celery stalk, chopped fine
• 2 medium carrots, chopped fine
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/4 lbs ground turkey (7% lean)
• 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes in puree with basil (go for high quality, Italian tomatoes are best)
• 1 cup half and half or milk
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 lb pasta of your liking

Heat up a large pan or shallow pot over medium heat. When the pan is very hot; add the butter, oil, onions, celery, carrots and one teaspoon of salt. Cook for about 9 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more, stirring frequently.

Add the turkey and cook for two minutes. Stirring and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon. Add the half and half.

When the liquid starts to boil, turn down the heat to a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stirring occasionally and continuing to break up the turkey meat.

Add the crushed tomatoes, wine, tomato paste and sugar. When it starts bubbling, turn down the heat to a low simmer and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with hot pasta noodles cooked al dente and a side of grated parmesan cheese.

*You can make this sauce a couple days in advance and it freezes nicely too.

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