Category Archives: pasta

Lobsta Pasta

Posted on October 3, 2013 | 3 comments

 

photo (5)photophoto (4)photophoto (2)photo (5)What could be better than 2 of my most favorite foods together ? Lobster and Pasta and no wrangling with a messy lobster, just yummy lobster meat and tomatoes with pasta. I just adore this combo and while it may be a tad rich there is no heavy sauce just delicious fresh ingredients.  I picked up the lobster meat at Grace’s Marketplace in Greenvale and I also use Roslyn Seafood Gourmet on Willis Avenue.  I call ahead because they don’t always have it on hand so you may have to order ahead of time.
I got this recipe from the NY Times Wednesday dining Section and made a few adjustments to my liking. It is perfect for the summer, winter, spring or fall. I actually think it’s a perfect way to serve Lobster and the lobster goes pretty far in a recipe like this.
* 4-6 servings, or increase ingredients and make it for more.

Ingredients:

1 lb. cooked lobster meat

1 lb. pasta such as bucatini, lasagnetti, rigatoncini, or long ziti, macaroni or any sturdy type pasta.

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 large shallots finely diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (this was spicy so you may want to adjust to your liking)

app. 2 cups chopped cherry tomatoes or little grape tomatoes if you can find yellow tomatoes mix them in with the red tomatoes, I used a whole container , I sliced in 1/2 .

Joel eating Lobsta Pasta
Lobsta Pasta
Lobsta Pasta
Lobsta Pasta in the Pan
Colorful tomatoes available now

–I put 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and a few grinds of the pepper mill on tomatoes. I added a teeny bit more salt, you’ll have to taste for it –taste a piece of tomato and you’ll know if you need more salt and pepper.

app. 2 handfuls basil leaves, torn or roughly chopped–obviously this adds a bit of punch to the plate but not entirely necessary.

Directions:

Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions for al dente.

Pour olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook for a couple of minutes till shallots soften without browning. Add garlic and red pepper and cook down for another minute or so. Add tomatoes and season generously with salt and pepper, I like to break down the tomatoes a little, so I cooked for about 15 minutes.  Add lobster meat to skillet, stir to coat and heat through for another 5 minutes. Turn off heat until pasta is ready.

When pasta is al dente, drain, add to skillet, and season with salt and pepper. Toss well and transfer to a wide bowl or platter. Add basil, toss once more and serve immediately. Keep a little pasta water on hand if you need to moisten pasta.

This was amazingly delicious, and what the hey we’re worth it right?

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Kasha Varnishkes–Jewish Comfort Food

Posted on August 30, 2013 | 1 comment

This is truly traditional Jewish comfort food made with buckwheat grains and bowtie noodles. I love it and grew up eating it and  try to make it a few times a year. What better time to make it than the Jewish New Year? it’s super easy and super tasty. If you’ve never made it why not start now. It’s a wonderful side dish to any meal and it can be vegetarian for all of those who need some extra vegetarian dishes on their tables.

Kasha comes in a box. There are different types of Kasha and almost all will work. I use medium or coarse granulation.  Wolff’s brand is really wonderful so look for it.

If you’re looking for an easy side dish to put together now is the time to look at this great recipe. This is also our go to the night before Yom Kippur. It’s tradition and delicious and comforting all at the same time.

Ingredients:

1 package bowtie ( farfalle ) noodles (app. 3/4 lb.)

1 white/yellow onion thinly sliced or you can use chopped onions , entirely up to you.

app. 2 tablespoons olive oil, you may need a  little more and may want a bit more to drizzle at the end. You can also use vegetable oil. I do use vegetable oil with this recipe.

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper–to taste

1 box button mushrooms sliced 8 ounce box

1 cup kasha, medium or coarse granulation.

1 egg

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock ( obviously if you’re making vegetarian you’ll use vegetable )

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to directions on box for al dente.

Saute’ the onions in olive oil, salt and pepper until they just start to soften, about 5 minutes. I use a medium size frying pan large enough to add in the pasta, and make sure you have a tight fitting lid.

Add the mushrooms and sauté until they start to soften as well, a few more minutes , set aside. Place mushrooms and onions in a bowl and you’ll use same frying pan to cook kasha.

Coat the kasha in a slightly beaten egg. You’ll just place kasha in a bowl and put beaten egg on grains. This will help the grains not to stick to themselves while you are cooking them. Make sure the grains are completely coated with egg.  Put the kasha in the same frying pan, set over a fairly high heat. Flatten, stir, and break up the egg-coated kasha with a fork or wooden spoon for a few minutes till toasted and the egg has dried on the kasha and kernels are brown and mostly separate. Kasha instructions for cooking are usually on the box as well.

Add back in the mushrooms and onions and combine with chicken broth. Cook box of Bow Tie Pasta according to directions on box al dente.

Bring to a boil and cook over low heat covered tightly. Check on it after 10 minutes or so to make sure the kernels are tender and the liquid has absorbed. If not, cover and continue steaming for another few minutes till all liquid is absorbed.

Adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper if you’d like, mix in cooked pasta, and if you’d like drizzle a little more oil on it. I like to do it all in a large enough frying pan to hold pasta . You can always mix in pasta in a large bowl separately. I like it in frying pan on stove top till I serve it. You can always make ahead and heat up in oven at 350 degrees in a pyrex dish,  you’ll most likely need to add a little oil if you do so.

*Wolff’s Kasha has directions for cooking kasha on the box. It’s pretty much the same , I just add in the mushrooms and onions for more flavor.

*should serve 8 people

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Orzo with Lemon Shrimp and Spinach

Posted on July 31, 2013 | 4 comments

photoDSCN0367DSCN0363DSCN0372DSCN0384DSCN0390By now you all know how very much we love shrimp. It comes in handy to have an ex-shrimp monger on hand to clean and devein my shrimp. I love cooking it but not so much cleaning and deveining it. Joel not only obtains the best shrimp around but he really does do a great job of cleaning and deveining. ( I think it’s in his DNA) In any event we make a pretty good team when it comes to shrimp dishes.
So now on to this delicious dish. I didn’t feel like grilling and this dish was calling out to me. I saw Giada de Laurentiis make a shrimp scampi on her show and she made it with arugula , it looked so awesome and light I figured I’d do it my way and make it with spinach even though I knew Joel wouldn’t eat the spinach. Our friend Drew was over and he loves spinach so we ate Joel’s spinach, once again it’s his loss. This dish was pretty easy to pull together once shrimp was prepped. Not a whole lot of ingredients, and whole thing took about 1/2 hour.  This dish was very light in flavor and a perfect summer night meal, doesn’t have to be served super hot , can be room temperature. Thanks again to Giada for the wonderfully inspiring recipe.

*once the shrimp is prepared this dish is a snap. Have your fish store clean and de-vein your shrimp for you.

Ingredients:

Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup olive oil

zest of 2 large lemons ( try to use organic if you’re zesting and eating the peel) and scrub those lemons well

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice ( from the 2 large lemons you just zested)

1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice, salt and pepper until smooth and set aside.

Ingredients:

1 lb. orzo

1 lb. shrimp , I used large under 10’s, peeled and deveined  ( you can have fish monger do this )

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 large shallot , chopped

app. 1 more teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup dry white wine ,  ( I used what I had on hand)

6 ounces of spinach , I used baby spinach, use whatever greens you like. Giada used arugula .

Directions:

Cook orzo according to directions. Drain and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.

Place shrimp in a bowl and sprinkle with kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper . Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped shallots and cook until soft for a few minutes. Add the shrimp, cook shrimp until they turn pink and are just cooked through depending on the size of your shrimp. When shrimp is cooked through remove the shrimp from the skillet. Increase the heat to high and add the 1/2 cup of wine, allow to boil up and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, cook for another minute or so until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Then add orzo to the pan along with the vinaigrette and the spinach and let it wilt down.  I added most of the reserved pasta water , you’ll use as much or as little as you need, I used whole cup of reserved pasta water. Add the shrimp back in and toss well until all the ingredients are well coated. Serve up and enjoy.

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Macaroni and Peas

Posted on June 19, 2013 | Leave a comment

Here is a delicious vegetarian pasta which is a perfect pasta for the warm summer nights and quite frankly hearty enough for the winter. It’s a sort of pea pesto , perfect at room temperature or hot . Here’s the thing, Joel has been on a very strict no carb diet for a while now and he would hate this anyway, he wouldn’t ever touch anything this green. He told me it looked like it belonged in the Exorcist movie. Once again, he doesn’t know what he’s missing, his loss but a perfect time for me to make it since he wouldn’t eat it anyway. I must say I loved it but you gotta love peas. This is also a great dish for kids, they get macaroni which they all love and all the vitamins from the peas.

Season liberally with salt and pepper and don’t be stingy with the parmesan cheese. Not a lot of ingredients but all super flavorful. This one is very heart warming and comforting to me somehow.  If you’re looking for a new take on basil pesto this could be the new one . I did use 3 tablespoons of butter and I know some of you are wincing but it’s a box of pasta it’s not all going into one individual serving. This can serve 4 -6 as a main dish and probably 8 as a side. All I can say is yum.

Ingredients:

1 pound shelled small peas, fresh or frozen will do ( I used frozen )

10 ounces pasta, I prefer the small shapes for this. Macaroni, fusilli, cavatappi, penne etc.

3 tablespoons butter ( unsalted)

1 garlic clove , chopped

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, coarsely grated (more for topping)

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper – I would start with 1/4 tsp. kosher salt and a few grinds of the pepper mill. Season according to your own taste.

Directions:

In a saucepan add enough water to just cover the peas, bring to a boil and cook until tender– about 3 minutes should do. Drain the peas–but reserve the cooking water.

Cook the pasta according to directions for al dente. Meanwhile melt the butter in a small pan over low heat; add the garlic and cook gently for a few minutes. Remove butter from the heat.

Put half of the cooked peas in a blender or food processor  with 6 tablespoons of their cooking water, the butter and garlic, and the 1/4 cup grated cheese. Puree unti smooth, adding more cooking water if necessary. Combine with whole peas that you didn’t pureeDSCN0200DSCN0211DSCN0208DSCN0203DSCN0214 and season liberally with salt and pepper. As I said I started with 1/4 tsp. of Salt, it was enough for me. I gave pepper mill a few grinds , you will season according to your own taste.

Drain the pasta and toss with the pea sauce. Serve with more grated cheese if you like.

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Fettucine with Sausage and Kale

Posted on April 3, 2013 | 2 comments

photophotophoto (4)photo (3)I made this for dinner before we left Colorado and was so crazy busy with Passover and Passover recipes, I had no time to post it. Now that the holidays are over I am back with some wonderful new recipes for Springtime.  High recommendation for this delicious pasta dish, what a perfect springtime anytime dish.  It was so very tasty, and easy to prepare.  If you like sausage and you like kale, and who doesn’t like fettucine? Joel managed to pick out every last piece of kale, but I don’t mind because he put it all on my plate. I used baby kale which is just perfect and if you can get turkey sausage it will be that much healthier. It is light, only 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a little chicken broth and Pecorino Romano and you’re finished. Very quick meal, very few ingredients, and it is restaurant worthy for sure. Simple, hearty and delicious. No extra added salt because you have the sausage which is plenty salty enough. I of course used spicy sausage , use whatever you prefer.

*serves 4 as main course

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. turkey or pork sausage, out of casing, and crumbled. Use hot or sweet sausage, whichever you prefer

1/2 lb. baby kale , if you can’t find baby kale use regular kale and remove tough stems and center ribs and coarsely chop the kale. Because I used baby kale, I just used as is, perfection!

1/2 lb. dried egg fettucine

1/2 cup chicken broth

Freshly grated Pecorino Romano for serving

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a 12″ heavy skillet over medium high heat until it shimmers, then cook sausage , breaking up any lumps. Once it browns up, about 7 minutes, take off heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, blanch kale in a 6 – 8 qt. pot of well-salted boiling water, uncovered, I cooked baby kale for about 3 minutes, it wilts quickly. I used a pasta insert and removed the kale and kept that water for cooking the pasta. If you don’t have a pasta insert you can just remove with a small sieve. You’ll want to cook fettucine in this water. I also highly recommend buying a pasta insert for pasta pots. There is a picture of the pasta insert that I use. I use the all clad one, they usually fit all pasta pots.

While pasta is cooking, dried egg fettucine cooks very quickly, add kale to sausage in the skillet and saute , stirring frequently on low heat for about 5 minutes. Add broth , stir and scrape any brown bits from bottom of skillet.

When pasta is done, reserve 1 cup of cooking water, then drain pasta. Add pasta and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to skillet, tossing until well coated and well combined. If you require a little more moistening add a little more pasta water at a time till it reaches consistency that you are looking for. I only added 1/2 cup. If you’re going to let it sit for a while you may want to heat it up and throw in a little more pasta water as it heats up.

Serve immediately , with cheese if desired. I plated each bowl individually.

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Chicken and Mushroom Ragu over Pasta

Posted on March 10, 2013 | 6 comments

I kind of winged this one but it came out so well I just had to post it . I had mushrooms , I had skinless chicken thighs, and all of the other ingredients. Pappardelle type pasta would have been awesome, but I only had fettucine. It was perfectly fine, just try and get as fat a noodle as possible, fettucine, pappardelle type of spaghetti. This is a rustic type ragu, of course you can use white meat chicken just cut into 1/2″ pieces. Firstly what is a ragu?  In Italian cuisine it is a meat-based sauce, commonly served with a pasta. In the northern Italian regions, a ragu is typically a sauce of meat , and cooked with sautéed vegetables in a liquid. Meats are varied and the liquids can be broth, stock, water wine, milk , cream or tomato, and often includes combinations of these. Characteristically, a ragu is a sauce of braised or stewed meat that may be flavoured with tomato, to distinguish it from a tomato sauce that is flavoured with the addition of meat. In southern Italian regions, ragus contain substantial quantities of meat, cooked with vegetables and tomatoes as well. This ragu is a winner, and pretty easy. You’ll need a food processor to get the mushrooms chopped, and a 12″ heavy skillet.

I might also add that I added the arugula and Joel had quite the time picking it out. It added a wonderful flavor despite his picking, I would have loved to do a pod cast of him picking it out, but I was too busy enjoying the dish! photo (8)photo (11)photo (10)photo (12)

Picture of a beautiful Colorado Day from my kitchen to yours. Just have to add that my family is out here now and they loved this dish! especially my son-in-law Brian.

*serves 4 as a main dish

Ingredients:

6 oz. cremini mushrooms

3 garlic cloves

1 1/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into app. 1/2-inch pieces

1 small onion chopped

3/4 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes in juice

1 lb. box of pasta, Pappardelle, Fettucine, any thick spaghetti will do nicely

5 oz. baby arugula, kale, spinach whatever green you like and have in the house will work just fine (use as much or as little of this as you want, 5 oz. was an estimate)

grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

Pulse mushrooms and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped

Heat olive oil in a 12 inch heavy skillet over medium high heat. Cut chicken into 1/2″ pieces ( approximately) and season chicken with about 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and  about 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper. Cook chicken in olive oil until a golden color, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl.

Reduce heat to medium and cook onion in oil, stirring occasionally until softened , about 5 minutes.

Add mushroom mixture, rosemary , 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, stirring constantly until it begins to brown up, again about 5 minutes.

Add vinegar and cook until evaporated for about 3 minutes, Add chicken and tomatoes ( with juice) then bring to a simmer, breaking up whole tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon, stir occasionally, cook until sauce starts to thicken up, about 30 minutes or so.

Meanwhile cook pasta until al-dente (according to package directions)

Add arugula to sauce and stir until wilted , it will wilt immediately, reserve a cup of pasta water before draining pasta and add to sauce as needed, I probably used 1/2 cup of pasta water to thin it out . Serve sauce over pasta, it was delicious.

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Saucy Stuffed Shells – Baked and Meatless

Posted on January 22, 2013 | 1 comment

Shells 004Shells 007Shells 009Shells 010OK you must be thinking is she kidding Stuffed Shells? gotta be the most fattening food to eat , and it probably is outside of lasagna, baked ziti and the like. Super delicious and sometimes you just hafta roll with it. I wanted a crowd pleaser, vegetarian and something that can easily be made ahead and frozen.  My mind wanders to yummy, gooey food with a lot of cheese because who doesn’t love a lot of cheese. Ah , yes Stuffed Shells.  I wouldn’t cook like this all the time, but once every blue moon no one is getting hurt, right? I served with a salad , no need for bread and butter here. Homemade Maple Syrup Salad Dressing ( see on blog) and it was really pretty awesome. Took a few hours to prepare, mostly because I made my own sauce ( Sunday night sauce) but feel free to use a jar of prepared sauce if you must. This is a perfect meal to make ahead of time, and just pop into oven.

Of course if you love it with meat you can make a meat sauce and follow same directions.

Ingredients:

1 box Jumbo Shells ( you won’t use all but a lot of them break, etc.)

1 lb. Ricotta ( I used Part Skim)

1 lb. Mozzarella Shredded ( I used Part Skim) if you can obtain fresh mozzarella and shred it that would make it even better! whatever works for you

1 cup grated Parmesan ( any kind you like)

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

*marinara sauce or any red sauce I made my own and use my own recipe. If buying sauce and there are some delicious good sauces out there, you’ll need at least 1 jar and maybe a 1 1/2 jars. I make a big batch of sauce and freeze the remainder. It’s nice to have a little extra sauce in case you need it when you re-heat the stuffed shells.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Prepare Pasta , cook for between 12 and 15 minutes, you’ll want them soft but not undercooked at the center. Drain pasta and cool for easy handling.

Combine ricotta, 1/2 of the mozzarella, 1/2 of the Parmesan, parsley and egg in a bowl. Taste for Salt and Pepper.

When shells have cooled down, fill them with rounded spoonfuls of cheese mixture and arrange them seam side down in casserole dish. I used a 9 x 13 Pyrex. Top Shells with remaining sauce and remaining mozzarella and grated cheese. Place shells in very hot oven . You can turn on broiler for last few minutes , it should be slightly browned and bubbly. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Delicious!

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Baked Ziti (my way) with Turkey Bolognese

Posted on December 13, 2012 | 1 comment

Chanukah 021Chanukah 022Chanukah 023Chanukah 041I was having some family for Chanukah but Joel asked if we could make it Italian food instead of the usual Chanukah fare and I must still be in my Roman state of mind so  I agreed and this is how I did it. I started with my Turkey Bolognese sauce. ( Look up Turkey Bolognese on my blog ) . This is much easier than lasagna, and I made Bolognese sauce the day before assembling baked ziti. I also put the Bolognese sauce over some shredded zucchini in addition to baked ziti for those who wanted lighter fare.  Then I followed the rest of the directions for my baked ziti. You can make this meatless by using marinara sauce of your choice.  This is a perfect satisfying Sunday Dinner, and great for a crowd. A cheesy comforting meal if ever there was one.  So here’s to an Italian Chanukah! Happy Chanukah everyone!

Ingredients: for baked ziti

(turkey bolognese is a separate recipe)

1 lb . Ziti or ziti type pasta I actually used tortiglioni noodles

1 15 oz. tub of Whole Milk Ricotta or Part Skim ( not fat free)

1 1/2 lb. Mozzarella Cheese, Grated

1/2 cups Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 whole egg

Turkey Bolognese Sauce or any other sauce you prefer ( I used my recipe and it yielded enough sauce for Baked Ziti and Zucchini)

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl mix together the ricotta cheese, 2 cups of the grated Mozzarella, Parmesan, egg and salt and pepper. Stir ingredients together until just combined.

Cook the pasta and cool it off slightly. I make it al dente because you will be cooking again, don’t overcook the pasta . Pour the pasta into the bowl with cheese mixture and toss to slightly combine. Add the cooled meat sauce and toss to combine.

Spray your casserole dish with Pam and spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of your pan first.   Add half the coated pasta to your casserole dish.  Spoon some remaining sauce over the top, then top with half the remaining mozzarella cheese, Repeat with another layer of the coated pasta, the sauce and the remaining mozzarella. I baked it for about 1/2 hour or until bubbling and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let stand a few minutes before serving.

* I do it in 2 layers but you can do it in one big layer and just top with cheese, I just give it more cheese this way. Your call. No wrong or right way with this recipe.

*this recipe will nicely serve 8 – 10 people. I didn’t double it but you can easily.  I served alongside my Italian Salad and shredded zucchini with Bolognese. Perfect!

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Another Pasta e Fagioli Recipe, with meat

Posted on November 3, 2012 | 1 comment

This is another version of Pasta e Fagioli . It contains pancetta.  Hurricane Sandy is about to touch down in NY and I figured this was as good a time as any to make this. I’ve always made my Pasta Fagioli the traditional way with carrots , onions and celery, a basic mirepoix. This recipe gives it a different base flavor, and you can also use canned cannellini beans for those of you who don’t want to fuss with the beans.  This soup is hearty and delicious, and is worth a try for sure. I use canned beans when I am in a rush and don’t have time to soak  the beans.   You’ll need an immersion blender or regular blender to blend. This soup was amazingly delicious. I didn’t blend it completely just for a few minutes so there were still a few beans and pieces of pancetta. This was amazingly delicious, and I ended up having to throw away the 2 containers in my fridge because we lost power and I was worried about the pancetta in it going bad. In retrospect I think it would have been fine. Oh well, it was delicious and I will definitely will be making it again soon.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

4 ounces pancetta

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 15 oz. cans of cannellini beans if canned rinsed and drained

2 tbsp. tomato paste

8 cups chicken broth (2 quarts)

1 cup of mini pasta ( you can add up to 1 1/2 cups of mini pasta, like ditalini or mini farfalla would be nice) the more pasta you add the more like pasta and less like soup it becomes. I did add an extra 1/4 cup because there was just a small amount left in the box.

*1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (Use at your own discretion. This is a very little bit. I like the heat so I go a bit heavier, but how much you use depends on your crowd. People can always add a bit more at the table, too.) Totally optional

*Grated Parmesan cheese for topping (optional)

*fresh basil for garnish (optional)

2 – 3 leaves fresh basil, cut up

Directions:

Heat a heavy stock pot on medium high heat until hot. Add olive oil and pancetta, saute for a minute or so. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so. Lower heat to a simmer and add tomato paste. Cook, stirring constantly, for a few minutes. Add chicken stock, salt, pepper and beans, then bring to a gentle boil and simmer for at least 30 minutes, I simmered for an hour. House smelled amazing. I had my doubts about this soup while I was cooking it but couldn’t have been more wrong, it’s awesome. Now I have 2 quarts of it left over !

Cool it down, and get out your immersion blender stick or blender, and start to puree until it is slightly chunky, not completely pureed. Bring soup mixture to a boil. Taste for salt and pepper, and if you’re adding it add red pepper flakes now. Add pasta and cook until al dente.

Serve in bowls with grated cheese and a sprinkling of fresh basil if you like.

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What I made for Dinner – Turkey Bolognese

Posted on October 22, 2012 | 1 comment

I must say Pasta is probably my most favorite food to eat. Bolognese sauce is one of my most favorites. Today I decided not to go to my usual Bolognese which is delicious but very heavy and rich. I went with a lighter approach today using Turkey and Chicken Sausage because I couldn’t find italian turkey sausage and didn’t feel like hunting it down, and the chicken sausage worked just fine. I did use dark meat turkey because it is much more flavorful, it is ideal but if you really don’t want to use the dark meat use 1/2 white and 1/2 dark or all white meat . The only negative to this sauce is that it really needs 3- 4 hours for the sauce to cook down. The longer the sauce cooks the more flavorful it will be.  This sauce would probably serve 4 nicely with 1 lb. of pasta. You can easily double it and freeze the leftover sauce. So nice to have it in the freezer and just have to make the pasta and you have a wonderful homemade meal. I have now started serving the sauce over shredded zucchini and spaghetti squash.  It is so delicious and you may feel a little bit better eating it over zucchini or spaghetti squash than noodles.  Pasta or Vegetable it’s pretty awesome. Look on my blog for Zucchini Bolognese Recipe for how to recipe, posted 12/20/2012.

Ingredients:

6 Tablespoons Olive Oil, plus more if necessary

1 lb. Italian style Turkey or Chicken Sausage, removed from casings. You can also mix in hot or sweet Italian pork sausage if you don’t mind using the pork.

1 pound ground Turkey ( I used dark meat )

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

2 medium yellow onions, peeled and finely diced ( app. 2 cups)

3 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 28 oz. cans whole peeled tomatoes with their juice

1/3 cup tomato paste

1 box. Rigatoni ( or any other macaroni you like ) or spaghetti or if you like use *shredded zucchini or *spaghetti squash ( see notes)

Grated Parmesan Cheese for serving

Directions:

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large heavy pan over medium high heat. ( I use my Le Creuset ) Add the sausage meat and break it up as it cooks, turning now and then, until browned all over, about 10 minutes. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set aside, add the ground turkey to the pan along with a good pinch of salt and a few fresh grind of pepper. Cook the meat stirring here and there, for 10 minutes as well, till meat is nicely browned. I remove and put in bowl with the sausage which was set aside. Add another 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and add the onions and garlic. Cook until onion breaks down and gets soft, another good 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice along with 1/2 cup of water. ( You may need more water as you go) Add the sausage and ground turkey, stir the sauce well. Bring the sauce to a boil, season to taste with salt and pepper and turn the heat to low. Cover almost completely with a lid (allowing a little steam to escape) and gently simmer for 4 hours. You may want to add splashes of water if sauce is drying out. After 2 hours I added the 1/3 cup of Tomato Paste, and replace lid and continue simmering for 2 more hours. I added water as it cooked, you’ll have to judge for yourself how much water you add. I added 1/4 cup at a time.

When the sauce is ready for serving, bring a large pot of water and prepare pasta according to package directions.

serve with sauce over the rigatoni ( or any pasta you like) with a nice grating of Parmesan.

Yum!

*so many stores now sell zucchini already shredded and it’s dry and ready to go. The only problem with doing it yourself is that you must get the extra moisture out.

*Spaghetti Squash – just have the store cut it in half because it’s a tough one to cut at home. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and scoop out the seeds. Spray a rimmed baking sheet and turn squash open side down on baking sheet and cook till soft, probably 45 minutes or so. Remove from oven and with a fork remove the inside of the squash into a bowl, it comes out like very thin spaghetti.

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