What a phenomenal dish! Unlike the regular Bolognese, this recipe replaces various kinds of read meat with turkey; the recipe is also loaded with a ton of veggies! Bolognese is a meat sauce cooked with tomatoes, wine and milk. The addition of the milk keeps the meat exceptionally tender, doing wonders for this meat sauce. My recipe mostly omits the wine, however, I’m providing an option to add it in the notes. This is an absolute favourite by all – kids and adults. A must try dish.
Turkey Bolognese
Ingredients
3 TBSP oil
3 lbs ground turkey meat
2 medium onions, finely minced
8 garlic cloves, pressed
5 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
6 celery stalks, chopped
2 6-ounce cans tomato paste
1 3/4 cup chicken stock
2 cups milk
4 bay leaves
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
5 sprigs of thyme
couple sprigs of rosemary
Parmesan rind
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 1/2 TBSP fish sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch of sugar
1 cup finely grated Parmesan
2 lbs dried pasta, such as penne, fusilli
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 300F. Process carrots and celery in a food processor until finely chopped.
- Heat half the oil in a large Dutch oven and the other half in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add turkey meat to the Dutch oven and keep cooking, while stirring, for only about 5 minutes until browned.
- In the mean time, cook onions in the skillet for about 3-4 minutes until soft and very lightly golden. Add processed carrots and celery and cook for about 5 minutes until some of the liquid has evaporated. Make a little well in the middle and add garlic; cook for 45 seconds or so until fragrant. Add tomato paste and cook for a minute or two. Transfer this mixture to the Dutch oven with turkey in it. Stir in soy sauce, fish sauce, bay leaves, herbs, Parmesan rind, chicken stock, milk and bring to simmer. Season well with salt and pepper. Add a pinch of sugar. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Transfer the Dutch oven, uncovered, to the oven. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the sauce is too runny, cook it for another 15 minutes or finish it on the stovetop, cooking at a brisk simmer until it thickens. Remove from heat, remove bay leaves, thyme and rosemary sprigs, and Parmesan rind. Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese.
- You can serve this on top of cooked pasta. I don't typically mix the pasta into this dish to prevent it from getting soggy. Alternatively, you can stir in the cooked to al dente pasta (according to the package instructions) into the sauce, cook until warmed through and coated with sauce. Ensure to save some pasta cooking water, as you may need to add some to adjust the consistency of your dish. Garnish with some additional herbs.
Notes
- Bolognese typically calls for wine. You can add about 3/4 cup dry white wine to the veggies in step 3 after you cook the tomato paste. Cook until the wine is mostly evaporated.
